I don’t usually make a ton of Puerto Rican dishes at home since many can be filled with tons of carbs (the bad kind), fat (lots of fat) and just ingredients that I don’t normally crave on a regular basis. Don’t get me wrong, when it comes to eating food in PR, I’m usually ALLLL over it but, here at home I tend to experiment with many other cuisines and other cooking methods.
Although, when it comes to plantains, that’s usually my weakness. I am a sucker for them whether they are fried, boiled, baked, or mashed down into a puree for other dishes. (All I am thinking about now is a beef soup that I make in the winter that has little balls of green plantains in it and is SO delicious! That recipe will come soon!) Where was I?… Oh yes, plantains!
So, if you aren’t sure what a plantain is, let me describe them. There are yellow plantains and there are green ones. Basically, the yellow ones are ripened green plantains. They may look like bananas, but they are NOT the same. Plantains cannot be eaten raw, they have a much higher starch content, plus they have less sugar. Plantains look much bigger than bananas and have a bit of a more firm peel on the outside. Green ones are great for boiling or frying as a “Toston” or “Patacon” depending on where you are from and can also be grated to make other dishes. Once the green ones start to ripen, the outside turns yellow and the inside will get softer and in turn get sweeter. These yellow plantains are better for frying and for baking. You can usually find them in the exotic fruit/vegetable section of the supermarket or in Asian and Latin American markets too. If you can’t find any yellow ones, you can always but, the green ones, stick them in a paper bag for a couple of days and they will start to ripen.
For this dish, we will be using the yellow plantains and the beauty of this dish, it’s basically a healthier version of the fried plantain, served with a ground turkey in a creole sauce (basically almost all of the same ingredients from my Sloppy Jose ), along with a broccoli slaw.
Baked Sweet Plantains with Ground Turkey in a Creole Sauce
Ingredients
- 3 or 4 Sweet Plantains, peeled, skin removed, cut in half
- 3 Tbsp Coconut Oil
- 1.5 Lbs Ground Turkey
- 1 Small Bag Broccoli Slaw
- 1.5 Tbsp Sofrito and Recaito (each)
- 1 Packet Sazon Or 1 tsp of sazon from the jar version
- ½ tsp Onion Powder
- ½ tsp Garlic Powder
- 2 Tbsp Tomato Paste
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 Cup Water You may not use all of this water but, still have it on hand
Instructions
For the Plantains
- Preheat your oven to 390°FPeel and cut your plantain in half. Place plantain (2 halves) on a piece of aluminum foil (individually wrapping 1 whole plantain in each piece of foil). Place 1 tsp of coconut oil on the foil. Wrap the plantains and place on a baking sheet. Place in ovenBake for about 30 minutes or until the plantains are soft and have slightly caramelized.
For the Ground Turkey
- Place a medium sized saucepan over medium to high heat, add 1 Tbsp of coconut oil. Once your pan is hot, add in the ground turkey. With a spoon, break apart meat and cook until lightly browned and cooked through. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Next add in the Sofrito and Recaito, saute for about 1 minute. Add in the tomato paste, sazon, onion and garlic powder and mix well, lower heat to medium low. Slowly add in 1/4 Cup of the water, mix and bring to a simmer.
- Meat should have enough water to create a light sauce, if it looks too dry, add in another 1/4 Cup of water and continue to simmer. Simmer for about 5 minutes, then add in the broccoli slaw (You don't have to use entire bag so feel free to only use 1/2 a bag). Mix well, add another 1/4 Cup of water. Simmer for another 5 minutes, taste for seasoning. Remove from heat.
Notes