Fried Plantain Sandwich

Over the summer, we had dinner at The Blue Eyed Crab in Plymouth, MA. It is a cute little place across from the water and we had never been there before, so we figured we’d give it a shot. Little did we know we’d return numerous times for one of their awesome appetizers. The Jibarito Plantain Sandwich is crispy plantains with jerk chicken, habanero aioli, pickled red onions, avocado, greens and farm cheese. What was so amazing about this sandwich is that it uses fried plantains as the “bread.” In the Paleo world it’s practically impossible to eat anything resembling a sandwich in a restaurant! Genius idea Mr. H@H and I thought and we quickly got in the kitchen to recreate it!

Plantains are very versatile and frequently used in Paleo dishes. A member of the banana family, plantains are starchy and low in sugar. They are usually baked or fried and used in Caribbean and West African dishes. Plantains are a good source of potassium, fiber, vitamin A and vitamin C.

For this recipe you must use green plantains. Plantains get sweeter as they ripen so a yellow/brown plantain would not work for this recipe.

Cut the ends off the plantains and peel (sometimes this can be difficult). 

Slice the plantains in half and then slice them lengthwise.

Heat up about 1 inch of oil (we used avocado oil, but coconut oil would work great) in a pan. Place the plantain pieces in the pan and fry until slightly browned (about 2-3 minutes). 

Remove the plantains from the oil and place on a paper towel lined plate to drain while you continue frying the rest of the plantains.

Place each individual piece of plantain on a hard surface (we used a cutting board) and find something heavy and flat to use to flatten them (we used a small Pyrex dish, but a plate would work also). Press down on the plantain until it is about ½ inch thick. Repeat this step for each piece of plantain. 

Place the flattened plantains back in the oil and fry until browned (about 2-3 minutes). 

Repeat for all plantains and drain on a paper towel lined plate.

Your plantains will be crispy, but not too hard. These can be used to make any kind of “sandwich”. We used pulled pork, but turkey and guacamole would also be amazing! These are totally addictive and you will find yourself making them at least once a week!!