Ahi nama! Sometimes, simplicity is key. It's true for makeup, architecture, relationships, and food. It's less true if you are a drag queen, Gaudi enthusiast or DMV employee...but rarely is anything universally valid.
Rice, beans and PLANTAINS. What's complicated about that? Nothing. What's wonderful about that? Everything.
Gwen Stefani probably should have sang the praises of these mouth watering bringers of joy and love, but I understand that P-L-A-N-T-A-I-N doesn’t sound as hip-hoppity fun as B-A-N-A-N-A. None the less, I have written her people to correct the wrong.
PLANTAINS are a staple of diet in the Caribbean, South and Central America, several African countries, India and my kitchen.
By simple default of having eaten their version the most, Cubans get full credit for the best plantains I’ve had... and since I rarely order PLANTAINS alone, it's important to note that part of their appeal is how they compliment the meal. The fabulous versatility of this humble relative of the common banana is that it CAN be just dessert, but why leave it at that when you can mash them into your black beans and rice or on top of your garlic chicken. It works everywhere! You can't do that with cherry pie! Try as you might, pie + meat loaf will "no doubt" send you to a p-o-r-t-a-p-o-t-t-y faster than you can say bad joke.
How you like your PLANTAINS cooked is personal preference. Some like them a bit more firm and less sweet. I call those people wimps. I want mine as soft as possible (saves me the work when I'm mashing them into my beans and rice) and well coated in sticky, buttery sweetness.
My personal favorite Cuban spot in LA is El Cochinito. It means little pig... which is misleading because every time I go I am in fact a big pig. There are blog wars fought in LA over whether El Cochinito's down home charm (by charm I mean hole in the wall in a strip mall) and excellent food out weights Versailles more well known fare. Honestly, both are good. If I had to create the perfect LA-Cuban plate I would take Versailles garlic chicken (with extra sauce) and an order of their PLANTAINS and El Cochinitio’s black beans and rice along with their PLANTAINS. I'd also order the lechon asdado from both spots....but I digress.
If you live in LA, great. Try El Cochinito and Versailles and decide for yourself. If you live elsewhere, go mash some local PLANTAINS into local beans and rice and enjoy. If you live in Cuba...well done my friends, well done.
Thanks Dee for turning me into a not so little pig.
