Plantain Casserole from Haiti

Shankar tries to get me Indian veggies that I usually don't get in Madison from St. Louis. Last week he had bought some plantains of an Indian variety. Some how with the busy week I had, they had been ignored and I realized almost after a week that they were too ripe for any of my regular recipes. And I have hardly cooked with ripe plantains before. A quick search led me to this recipe from A Taste of Haiti by Mirta Yurnet-Thomas. Though I was a little skeptical of cooking ripe plantains, the casserole turned out to be too good and not only do I have a favorite substitute for sweet potato casseroles, I don't have to throw away any more ripe plantains, ever!

 

I peeled and sliced about 4 plantains. In a pan, melted about a tbsp of butter and to that added a small chopped onion. Once the onions were soft I added about a tbsp of flour and cooked well. Then I added about 1/2 cup of milk to make a sauce. Seasoned it with salt, pepper and a pinch of nutmeg. I tossed the plantains in this sauce, poured it into a baking dish and added shredded pepper-jack cheese on top. Baked in a 375F pre-heated oven until there was a golden crust. It took about 30 minutes. If the plantains were not ripe enough, you might want to boil them first before cooking. Yummy :)