Baked Plantain Fries

As most of my readers know, I am always on the lookout for something new to try.  Even though I live in a town in Iowa where I can count the number of dinner restaurants we have, on the one hand, that does not mean I cannot eat as I live in an area in which new and exciting food is readily available.

I grew up in the Chicago suburbs, where ” food trends”  come and go like clothing, hair, and makeup trends.

I remember being in middle school when Maggiano’s became popular.  My parents had no idea that one order of pasta meant that everyone in the family was going to get an entire pound of pasta!  ( we went home that first time with about five shopping bags of food!)

When I was in high school ( 1998-2001).  We went out for Sushi and Tapas.  My friends and I also spent many nights in Coffee Houses, Jamba Juice, and TCBY.

In 2005, after graduating from college, when I moved back to the Chicago area, my friends and I started eating out at these new ” higher scale”  Mexican fast food places like Qdoba, Baja Fresh, and Chipolte.

Of course, when I moved away to western Illinois in 2006, Sushi was getting started there.  But now, my mom and her Chicago friends have discovered something new.  The breakfast casserole. Which I am pretty sure has been a staple in Iowa for years and years!

My sister-in-law Michelle gave me the idea to get started on Plantains.  She runs a gluten-free home and is always looking for new kid-friendly recipes to try. Frequently, her family is my inspiration for these recipes I come up with.   Over Christmas, she was telling me about a Plantain dessert she had made and enjoyed.

Plantains can be found in the produce department of most grocery stores.  They are a cousin to the banana, but the taste and are eaten very differently.  Plantains are a staple in Latin cuisine.  One plantain is about 80 calories.  Plantains are fruit and contain fiber, vitamin C, and other vitamins. Many times you will find fried plantains.

I wanted to try to make plantain fries but wanted to bake them.  Instead of using large amounts of oil, I just brushed these fries with a bit of olive oil.

Baked Plantain Fries 

Ingredients 

2 Plantains

Two tablespoons of olive oil

One teaspoon salt

One teaspoon garlic powder.

1) Cut the Plantains into the shape of ” Fries.”  

2) Spread them on a baking sheet

3) Brush them with olive oil. Top them with salt and garlic powder. 

4) Bake them at 400 degrees f for 20 minutes. Stirring them every few minutes.  

These were great.  I think my husband Greg said it right when he said that they ” tasted kind of like tatertots.”  If you are not familiar with plantains, then you should introduce yourself sometimes.  They are a child-friendly fruit to try.  They are packed with vitamins.  They are not carb-free, but they are not bad for you either as long as they are not deep-fried.  I will have these again!