The holidays are just around the corner.. It is my favorite time to create new recipes to amaze family and friends. Last Friday we had a friend from the Philippines for dinner and I cooked fried plantains to accompany coconut fried rice and an awesome beef brisket! That was the exact same night I came up with this simple yet tasty appetizer: A unique fusion marrying the key ingredients of the traditional Italian “Insalata Caprese” to the tropical food staple “plantain.”

Recipe:

Start with plantains. These are easily confused with bananas. Opposed to bananas, plantains need to be cooked somehow (boiled, fried, baked, grilled, etc.) and they are never consumed raw. Here is a picture of a couple of plantains.

Cut the ends of the plantain and peel off the plantain skin.

Cut the plantain in slices (for plantain chips) or in bigger pieces for the purpose of this appetizer.

Fry the cut plantain in hot oil.

Take out, remove excess oil using a paper towel. Smash  the fried plantain on a  plantain smasher. If you do not have a smasher in your kitchen, you can use the base of a pan against a clean board surface.

Fry the smashed plantain.

Sprinkle salt and place on a plate.

Add a slice of buffalo mozzarella cheese, tomato rounds and sprinkle with salt, pepper and olive oil. This is the perfect seasoning for both adults and children at our home. Optional final touches add balsamic vinaigrette and basil leaves.

A happy ending… The Caribbean and the Mediterranean seas come together in this simply delicious appetizer.