Sweet and Salty Plantains with Lime
Sweet and Salty Plantains with Lime are a delicious Latin appetizer, just hot delicious fried plantains with a lime sugar salt coating that's easy to make.
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1 ½ - 2 cups vegetable or canola oil
- 2 green plantains
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1-2 teaspoons fine sea salt
- zest of two limes
- thermometer for oil
Instructions
- In a vessel, add warm water (2-4 cups) and 1 teaspoon each salt and granulated sugar. I like to leave it in the sink, to keep the mess to a minimum. Peel plantains (see notes for tips on this) and slice crosswise into ½ inch pieces.
- In a small, heavy (better for even heating) deep pot (I like this setup because I can use less oil), heat oil to 325° F.
- Carefully add plantains to oil and fry until golden yellow in color, about 2 minutes.
- With a spider or slotted spoon, remove the plantains and place in the sugar salt water and let soak for a minute or two (they’ll plump up and absorb some seasoning).
- Remove to a colander to drain.
(If you’re making more than one batch, fry the next batch while these dry. Once they’ve drained in the colander for a minute, transfer to a sheet pan and dry of excess water). 
(This is for safety sake- water and oil don’t mix, so if you’re talking water and hot oil, you get explosive splatter). - Bring oil back up to 325° F and return plantains to pan and cook until golden brown, approximately 3- 4 minutes.
- Toss in the salt sugar lime mix.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Two plantains is perfect for a small party, but I often make these for big groups too, and then make 8 or so. The good part is that you won’t need much more oil or sugar salt mixture even when you scale up to include more plantains. And if you are making lots of batches, complete each step in its entirety before moving on to the next step i.e. do all the initial frying. Dry all, then begin second frying. Plantains are harder to peel than bananas, since they’re tougher and green, so you may need to use a paring knife and make shallow slits in the skin.
Make Ahead: If you’re going to make them ahead, and reheat for a party, complete through both of the frying steps and then set aside. When you’re ready to serve, preheat the oven to 350° F and warm them for 5-10 minutes. Then toss in the sugar mix. I like to heat small batches at a time because they’re best served warm.
Make Ahead: If you’re going to make them ahead, and reheat for a party, complete through both of the frying steps and then set aside. When you’re ready to serve, preheat the oven to 350° F and warm them for 5-10 minutes. Then toss in the sugar mix. I like to heat small batches at a time because they’re best served warm.