Plantain (banana-da-terra) is the Brazilian cooking banana. It is starchy, cooked, and served as a side with grilled meat, especially in the North and Northeast. Buy yellow or black-ripe plantains at any supermarket. It shows up at some churrascos the way cassava (macaxeira) does: a hot starch next to salt and char. It is not a Cavendish dessert banana.
What to buy
In a US store the label is plantain, usually sold green or turning yellow. For a churrasco side buy them yellow with some black spots, still firm. Green plantains fry like a chip and taste dry. Soft black ones collapse. Four large plantains serve about six as a side.
Regular bananas (nanica or prata) belong in cartola, the Pernambuco dessert. This pan is for plantain (banana-da-terra).
Banana-da-terra frita (fried)
- 4 firm-ripe plantains
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) neutral oil, or 3 tablespoons bottled Brazilian butter (manteiga de garrafa) or melted salted butter
- 1/2 teaspoon (1/2 colher de chá) fine salt, tossed on while hot
- Peel. Cut each plantain in half lengthwise, then into 3 medium slices, or into 1/2-inch rounds.
- Heat the oil or butter in a wide skillet over medium heat until it shimmers.
- Fry in one layer until both sides are deep gold, 3 to 5 minutes per side.
- Drain on a rack or paper. Salt immediately.
Bottled Brazilian butter (manteiga de garrafa) is the better flavor if you have it. Melted salted butter works if the bottle is gone. A little salt is enough.
Banana-da-terra cozida or steamed
- 4 plantains, ends trimmed, peel left on
- 1 liter (4 cups) water for boiling
- Cover with the water.
- Simmer about 10 minutes, until the peels split.
- Cool enough to handle, peel, and cut into chunks.
- Serve hot, with a pinch of coarse salt or a little butter.
For a firmer piece, steam the same unpeeled plantains 12 to 15 minutes instead of boiling. The flesh should give to a knife and stay in one piece, like boiled macaxeira.
On the fire
- Grill peeled halves, cut side down, over the cool side of the fire with a film of oil, about 25–35 cm (10–14 in) from the embers, about 3 minutes per side, until soft and marked.
That is banana-da-terra grelhada, not the fried side and not grilled pineapple (abacaxi com canela).
At a churrasco
Fry or boil while the meat rests. Serve next to fresh garlic pork sausage (linguiça toscana), sun-dried salted beef (carne de sol), or picanha, with toasted cassava flour (farofa) and Brazilian tomato-onion sauce (vinagrete). This is a Nordeste plate.
If you fry them, then add grilling cheese (queijo coalho; halloumi is the US stand-in), sugar, and cinnamon, you have left this post and made cartola, which is a Pernambuco dessert.
Leave a Reply