Plantain Nachos

I love my mandolin slicer. Above is a picture of the one I purchased at the Southern Christmas Show about 4 years ago. Brand: Borner. You can purchase it online, or go to the home stores. Just search for mandolin slicer. There is a wide variety of brands. It is portable, so I take it with me to any party I am working. And I use it at home all the time. But DO NOT use it without the safety guard. Believe me I know, I have the scars to prove it. Those little blades are SHARP!
Anyway, to make the plantain chips, you need green plantains. Peel them and then rinse them.
Dry them off with a paper towel. Use the slide that makes thin slices. Cut the plantain in half. It is easier to handle and slice them.

Have a plate with several layers of paper towel ready to absorb the oil of the cooked chips.

If you have a deep fryer, use the temperature recommended for potato chips. If you don’t, fill a frying pan with about an inch of vegetable oil. Heat the oil. To test the temperature, add one slice of the plantain. If it sizzles, it is ready. Add the chips a handful at a time. You don’t want to overcrowd the pan. Turn the chips around with a slotted spoon every minute so they do not stick to each other. Once the are golden brown, scoop them out. It doesn’t take long. Let the oil drain over the pan a few seconds and transfer on to the paper towel.
Continue this until all your plantains are cooked.

Now, I can’t tell you how many plantains to use. Latinos always cook for an army even if only 2 people are going to show up and I inherited that trait. For nachos, best bet is to have at least one plantain per person if you are having this for tailgating. As an appetizer at home, ½ of a plantain per person should be enough. And in reference to temperatures, I eyeball it.

Toppings – the sky is the limit. Here are a few ideas.

CAROLINA NACHOS
Put the cooked plantain chips on a platter. Add shredded barbeque. Top with vinegar based cole slaw. The sweetness of the plantains complements the barbeque sauce really well. Now, for you northerners like me that means barbequed pork. I had to learn this terminology. Whenever they would invite me out to eat barbeque, I would ask, “Barbeque what?” Everyone would bust out laughing. Only pork is barbequed down south, all else is grilled.

CARIBBEAN NACHOS
Top the plantain chips with shredded cooked chicken. Add black beans and sprinkle with Mojo sauce. Mojo sauce contains olive oil, garlic and sour orange juice or lime juice, cumin, salt and pepper. As you can tell already, I love GOYA brand foods. The major supermarkets are carrying them here in Charlotte now. Go to the international foods section and Goya is there. Mojo comes in a bottle. Don’t worry about having leftover sauce. You can use it as a marinade.

Be creative. Let your food juices flow.

This ends the Going Green series. Coming at this blog near you,

“To Sear with Love”

Stay tuned.