Caveman Sam

While on our trip to Pros Ranch Market I also picked up some plantains. I’ve since learned that plantains aren’t the ideal primal food – they have lots of carbs, similar to a sweet potato -  but they have a glycemic index of 38 (same as an apple) so not totally terrible.

Anyway I’ve been craving tortilla chips with guacamole and saw this recipe for plaintain chips and figured I’d give it a shot. It’s a pretty simple process. Just cut up the plantain on a diagonal – so there’s more room for the guacamole – and fry them.

Ingredients for guacamole:

2 Avacados

1 Roma tomato, chopped

1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped

1/4 cup chopped cilantro, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 teaspoon lime or lemon juice.

Ingredients for fried plantains:

2 Plantains

1/2-1 cup of lard

Ground cinnamon and cayenne pepper to sprinkle on the chips

Directions for guacamole:

1) Cut avocados in half and remove pit. Scoop out innards into a bowl.

2) Chop onion, tomato and cilantro and add to bowl. Press or mince garlic and add it as well.

3) Add lime or lemon juice and smash entire mixture with fork until thoroughly mixed but still chunky.

Directions for fried plantains:

1) Peel plantains and cut thin diagonal slices.

2) Melt lard in medium frying pan until you have about an inch of oil. Fry plantain slices, several at a time, for 3-4 minutes until crispy.

3) Drain plantain chips on paper towels and sprinkle with cinnamon and cayenne pepper.

During my pre-primal days I got really good at making guacamole. The Cavewife craved the stuff when she was pregnant with the Caveboy. We must have eaten it 2-3 times a week.

I nearly always use a garlic press. I love the satisfying crunch as bits of garlic innards spray across my food. :)

I think mot people prefer guacamole smoother than I make mine. I still smoosh it up but I like a good chunk of avocado here and there.

Plantains are surprisingly difficult to peel. You may need to use a knife.

Try to make your slices big. They’ll shrink while frying and no one likes small chips.

I used some lard I rendered myself. I’ll have to do a post sometime on that. Boiling pig fat is tons of fun for the whole family!

I can hear the sizzle now.

Here’s the first batch with the cinnamon and cayenne pepper sprinkled on.  These were pretty good by themselves but weren’t quite as crisp as I would have liked.

I did a few more batches and the ones that got crispy enough ended up pretty dark. They were pretty good though. I felt very South American as I ate.