Roasted Plantains with Chili-Peanut Lime Salsa and Feta
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You’re no stranger to tostones, aka twice-fried green plantains. But have you ever tried a sticky-sweet overripe plantain? If not, the roasted plantains with chili-peanut lime salsa and feta recipe from Lelani Lewis’s new cookbook, Code Noir, are a great place to start.
“The pairing may seem unlikely,” Lewis writes, “but make no mistake: Peanuts and bananas, or in this case, plantains, are a match made in culinary heaven. Coupled with a salsa made from smoked chiles, peanuts and lime and topped with crumbled feta, this dish makes a perfect appetizer or a light lunch.”
The key here is using the blackest plantains you can find (or buying them green and waiting until they’re super soft and overripe). As for the salsa, you’ll have plenty left over to use as a chicken marinade, mix with coconut milk for a tasty sauce or serve with yuca chips.
February 20, 2023/Copyright text and recipes © 2023 by Lelani Lewis. Food photography copyright © 2023 by Remko Kraaijeveld/Tra Publishing
Ingredients
Chile-Peanut Lime Salsa (makes 1½ cups)
2 dried guajillo chiles
1 dried chipotle chile
1 dried cascabel chile
2 dried ancho chiles
1 dried mulato chile
2 unpeeled garlic cloves
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 ounces unsalted peanuts
2 tablespoons sugar
Zest and juice of 1 lime
5 sprigs thyme, leaves removed
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Roasted Plantains
2 overripe plantains
6 tablespoons chile-peanut lime salsa
⅔ cup feta cheese
1 lime, cut into wedges for serving
Directions
1. Make the Salsa: Put all the dried chiles in a bowl and pour boiling water over them so they’re fully submerged. Soak for 10 minutes. Remove them from the water and transfer to a food processor.
2. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over low heat, gently heat the unpeeled garlic cloves and olive oil for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the oil cool.
3. Meanwhile, toast the peanuts in a dry pan until fragrant, 6 to 10 minutes, then roughly chop them. Add them to the chiles in the food processor.
4. Squeeze the garlic out of the skins and add it to the food processor, along with 5 tablespoons of the oil, the sugar, lime juice and zest, thyme and salt and pepper to taste. Pulse the mixture about six times until you reach a coarse consistency. Taste and add more salt if needed.
5. Transfer the salsa to a sterilized jar and store in the refrigerator for up to three weeks.
6. Make the Plantains: Preheat the oven to 355°F.
7. Place the unpeeled plantains in a baking dish and roast until the skins are black and the insides are completely soft, 20 to 30 minutes.
8. Slit the roasted plantains lengthwise. Spoon 3 tablespoons of salsa onto each plantain, crumble feta over the top and serve with lime wedges on the side.
828 calories
52g fat
90g carbs
11g protein
49g sugars
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Note: The information shown is Edamam's estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist's advice.