Loaded Plantain Boats

The first time I tried plantain was in my third year of university and it was love at first bite! Plantain is a banana variety that is especially common in West Africa. This banana is a type that isn’t typically consumed raw but can be cooked in a variety of ways. Unlike matoke (green bananas), plantain does ripen and turn yellow. When cooked it has a sweet caramelized taste to it. Plantain is often fried, but in today’s recipe, we will bake them, stuff them with soy mince and top with Kenyan-style fresh salad, called kachumbari.

Ingredients:

For the Boats

6 large plantain bananas

For the Stuffing

1 small onion

2 cloves garlic

1 small green bell pepper

1 bunch dhania

1 medium packet of soy mince

1 tbsp soy sauce

Oil as needed

Salt to taste

For the Kachumbari

1 onion

2 tomatoes

1 bunch fresh coriander or dhania

Juice of half a lemon

Salt to taste

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200C

2. Cut off the tip ends of the plantains and make a shallow slip along the length of the peel. Peel the plantain and place them on a baking sheet lined with foil.

3. Bake the plantains for 15 minutes on each side (30 mins total) until slightly browned and tender then set aside to cool.

4. In the meantime, in your cooking pot to boil, add some oil and sauté your onions, garlic, bell peppers until soft and the onions are translucent.

5. Add in soy mince with some water to rehydrate and cook for about 2 minutes. Add soy sauce and mix. If necessary you can also add some salt. Let cook for another 2 minutes and turn off the heat.

6. Next, prepare the kachumbari. Add chopped onions into a hot water and salt mixture to get rid of the strong onion taste (and to reduce onion breath). Allow it to steep for 5 minutes.

7. Drain the water from the onions and add chopped tomatoes, chopped coriander and the lemon juice and mix.

8. Once the plantain has baked and cooled down, slit them down the middle to create a pocket. Stuff the soy mince into the plantain pocket and top with kachumbari.

9. Enjoy this as a snack or as a meal.

This recipe is filling, tasty and easy to make! We hope you enjoy this tasty meal. When you make these Plantain Boats, don't forget to snap a picture and tag us on our socials @veganafricafund, as we would love to see how it turns out!