As a Guyanese person it is a a rite of passage to eat plantain and eggs for breakfast. I’ve had too many fried plantains (green, ripe, half-ripe, you name it) and scrambled eggs combinations to count. This plantain dish is made with ripe or yellow plantains and is a great substitute for traditional American home fries and a great option for Guyanese boil and fried plantains.

For this dish I peeled 4 ripe/yellow plantains and cut them into one inch cubes. I put the diced plantains into a pot, covered with water, added some salt and cooked it on medium heat until it was soft. This took about 10 minutes, so keep an eye on it so that the plantains don’t over cook. If the plantains over cook the dish will be mushy.

Next, I sautéed some diced tomatoes, yellow onions, green onions (the white parts or head only), baby bell peppers and crushed garlic (not pictured) in olive oil. I added a pinch of salt and black pepper and let it cook until the tomatoes were really mushy. I used baby bell peppers because I love cutting them into little circles.

Then, I added the cooked plantains and sautéed for a few minutes. I tossed the plantains around every few seconds to avoid burning.

Finally, I topped the dish off with the chopped stems of the green onions (the green part) and some fresh thyme leaves. It was unbelievably yummy. The sweetness of the plantains and the crunchiness of the green onions and bell peppers were the perfect combination. I served it family style, directly from the skillet and my family really enjoyed it. I served this as a dinner side with chicken stew and had the left overs with eggs the next morning.

Sweet Plantain Home Fries

 

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

20 mins

Total time

30 mins

 

Sweet ripe plantains, sautéed to perfect with tomatoes, green onions and bell peppers.

Author: Althea Brown

Recipe type: Breakfast/Side Dish

Cuisine: Guyanese

Serves: 5

Ingredients

• 4 ripe (yellow) plantains
• ½ yellow onion, diced
• 4 heads of green onions, finely chopped with white and green parts separated
• 3 baby bell peppers, cut into circles
• 2 cloves of garlic, grated or crushed
• 3 sprigs of thyme, leaves removed from the stems
• 1 large tomato, diced
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp, plus a pinch of salt
• a small pinch of black pepper

Instructions

1. Peel and dice plantains into 1 inch pieces.
2. Add plantains to a pot suitable for boiling and cover with water. Add 1 tsp salt and boil on medium heat until cooked (about 10 minutes)
3. Next, warm the oil in a large skillet on medium heat, then cook onions, tomatoes, bell peppers, and the white parts of the green onions. Add a pinch of salt and black pepper to the seasoning as they cook.
4. When the tomatoes cook down and are mushy, add the garlic, followed by the cooked plantains.
5. Sauté for 5 minutes constantly turning to avoid burning
6. Then add the green parts of the green onions and the fresh thyme leaves.
7. Toss and serve

Notes

1. If your plantains are really ripe keep an eye on them while boiling or they will get too soft.
2. Boil plantains uncovered to keep it from boiling over and causing a huge mess.
3. I used baby bell peppers in this dish because I like to cut them into tiny circles but you can use regular bell peppers.
4. I don't add the garlic in with all of the seasoning in the beginning because I don't want it to burn
5. If using a cast iron skillet, always use medium heat or you will burn the plantains.

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