Baked Plantains

I ate a lot of plantains while I was traveling in Central America; they are an integral part of the desayuno Chapin, or traditional Guatemalan breakfast. It was one of my favorite things about eating with my host family. Typically they are friend, which is tasty but requires a rather obscene amount of oil. For this recipe, I opted for baking them which is much healthier. 

Plantains can be eaten when they are yellow and underripe, in which case they will have a starchy texture similar to a potato. If you like them softer and sweeter, buy them after the skins have started to go black. Don't be afraid to eat them, even when the skins are totally black, it's totally fine as they don't go bad like bananas. 

To make two servings you need two plantains, preferably with skins that are beginning to blacken. Peel them and lay them together on a sheet of aluminum foil. Drizzle 1tbsp olive oil over the top, then add 1 tbsp brown sugar, 1tsp garam masala, a liberal quantity of salt, a pinch of chili and a pinch of cinnamon. Wrap them up tightly in the foil and bake them for an hour at 350 degrees. Serve with brown rice and red beans, garnish with scallions or cilantro. 

I found these cocoa dusted almonds at Walgreens, which surprised me! I went with the intention of buying a new notebook for my neuroanatomy class, but I ended up coming home with study snacks as well.