Plantains + Belgium; Plantain Waffles with Frites Sauce

Ease of Preparation: Medium

Yield: 4

Ingredients:

Plantain Waffles:

• 2 cups (470 ml, 2-3 large) pureed medium ripe-ripe plantains
• 2 ½ tablespoons (37.5 ml) oil or melted butter + more for oiling the waffle maker
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) lemon
• ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) salt
• ½ teaspoon (2.5 ml) baking soda

Andalusian Sauce:

• ½ cup (120 ml) mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) minced shallot
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) minced canned piquillo peppers
• ½ lemon, juice
• Salt

Method:

For the Andalusian Sauce:

In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, tomato paste, minced shallot, green chilli, piquillo peppers, lemon juice, and salt. Reserve. Refrigerate if not using right away.

For the Plantain Waffles:

Preheat a waffle iron to medium high.

Peel the plantains and rough chop.

Place the plantain pieces in a high speed blender and blend until smooth (or as smooth as possible until it becomes too difficult to blend more).

Add the oil to the plantains and blend until completely pureed.

Add lemon juice to the blender. Blend again on high for a few seconds to mix well.

Add the salt and baking soda to the blender. You can blend again to mix or use a spatula to stir the ingredients into the batter by hand.

Oil the waffle iron and place ⅓ cup (80 ml) of the batter into the center.

Cook until the waffle is browned and cooked through, roughly 8 minutes, and repeat until the batter is gone. Oil waffle iron between uses.

Serve hot with reserved Andalusian Sauce.

NOTE: These waffles work best when your plantains are varied in ripeness. If one of your plantains are more ripe (yellow with black spots) and one is medium ripe (mostly green) they always turn out best. The ripe plantain will contribute the sweet flavor, while the less ripe will add more starch to help them hold.