I've made sweet plantains with some sort of lime juice topping for dessert once from a recipe I found on FoodNetwork. I wanted to give it a try again, but it turned out I didn't write down the recipe. (Note: ALWAYS write down recipes you're going to try- if you like them, then add it to your recipe book; if you don't, then throw away.) So, I came up with my own recipe.
First, let me explain a little about plantains in case you've never cooked with them. At my local grocery store, they are sold right next to the bananas and are usually green and larger than the bananas. You can not eat them raw like a banana- they have to be cooked. A plantain progresses through ripeness colors just like a banana- green then yellow then black. However, a plantain that is yellow is not sweet! You must wait for it to turn all the way black (brown) before using it in a sweet stage. When you're ready to open this sucker up, it will not peel like a banana. Just chop off the ends and make a few slits down the sides and peel it that way. Lastly, you should know that plantains have a high sugar content- which means if you try and cook it with the heat too high it will burn very quickly.
2 TBSP butter
1-2 Plantains, sliced in half both ways (one slice down the middle length-wise, and one width-wise)
1/4 cup whipping cream
1 TBSP brown sugar
2 TBSP lime juice
On stove, melt butter on medium-low heat. Once melted, lay the sections of plantain in the skillet so they are not overlapping. Let cook about 10 minutes (until crisp and brown) and then flip to repeat on the other side.
Meanwhile, combine whipping cream with brown sugar and lime juice. Use a blender or immersion blender (I actually used a BODUM Schiuma milk frother- one of my favorite kitchen appliances- and it runs on batteries!) to whip whipping cream until it forms soft peaks.
When plantains are finished, pour cream mix over top (or the kiddos might like dipping them) and enjoy!
