I love plantains!! They can be cooked at different stages and in different ways but are most commonly fried. The green ones fried are called Tostones and the riper yellow ones with some browning are made into Maduros. As Tostones, the plantains taste more like thick plantain chips and are delicious with just a little salt. At the riper stage, the plantains taste sweeter and come out much softer (unlike chips) even when prepared virtually the same way. These are called Maduros and are a favorite of mine.
I wanted to figure out if there was a healthier way of making them so that I didn’t have to eat all that oil. My Peruvian friend James told me that he just throws them on his grill with the skins on and when they’re ready, the skins will split. So yesterday I decided to try his concept in the oven. I put the whole plantain, skin on, in a 400 degree oven. It was a very large plantain and it took about 30 min. I turned it over once in the middle. As he said, it split when ready and oh my god, it was delicious! Just peel the skin off and serve. You won’t miss the oil at all. YUM!
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