Platanos Fritos (Fried Plantains)

Guatemalan Platanos

*FIRST OF ALL!!! I must make a disclaimer: I did not make this dish, my husband did. :) He learned to do this on his mission in Guatemala, so of course we made them for Guatemala Day! Only problem: We tried to make them in the mountains over an open fire. It was a lot harder than we anticipated, but still tasted great!

Hint: when cooking over a fire, wear goggles so the smoke does not get in your eyes...it kills!
Note to self: Next time, use charcoal.

1. Buy plantains from the store (can usually find in a grocery store...we went to a latin foods market for fun). The plantains are ready when the skins are BLACK and look gross. Seriously, it's weird but true. Think of it as finding the ones that look like bananas ready for banana bread. Those ones are perfectly ripe!

Black Plantain skin...this is what it should look like!!!

2. Peel the skin off the plantain. This is sometimes harder than it looks, especially if the fruit is not ripe enough. With green plantains it can be almost impossible! Luckily, my husband is an expert. :)

3. Cut plantain at a slant to make fry-able pieces.

4. Put in a skillet with hot oil and fry both sides until golden yellow-brown.

5. Sprinkle sugar over the top and dip in sour cream. Enjoy!

MY REACTION: My husband first made these for me when we started dating. He wanted to impress me with his mission cooking skills...you know how that goes. I was hesitant at first, because  one of the only foods I hate are bananas. Luckily, fried plantains don't taste too much like bananas, and they have a much better texture (I think that's what I hate about bananas the most). Since then I have only been able to have this dish three other times. Two of those times were in the past few days. Cooking the plantains over the fire was such hard work that we saved the rest to cook at home the next day. I couldn't wait to eat it all! If I could have this once a month for dessert, I would be in heaven.