Mango Chutney Pork Chops with Platanos Fritos

Before I went to university, I spent a couple of months living in the jungle in Panama. I lived in a tiny little village about 8 hours by canoe from any form of civilization. The village was about 15km from the Columbian border. During my stay, I ate a LOT of platanos (ie. plantains). As in, morning, noon and night, platanos. Want a snack? Platanos. Platanos, platanos, platanos. We'd often just see them floating down the river. Platanos are a staple in many countries and they are very yummy. What is often frustrating here in Canada is that when you go to buy them at the grocery store, they are often thrown out just when they start to look good. Unlike their cousin, the everyday banana, platanos are best when they are almost black. They become sweeter as they ripen and really are something that gets better with age. Needless to say, at the Giles' residence, we eat a lot of platanos fritos ("fried plantains"). 


For this particular dinner, I picked up some pre-made mango chutney (I know, I know, I didn't make it myself...) as a fun topper for our pork chops. I served the pork chops with sides of the platanos fritos, a sliced avocado with some lemon juice and salt & pepper and a toasted greek pita brushed with olive oil and then chopped in to wedges. How geometrically pleasing! For the recipe I'm only posting how to make the platanos fritos because I think that the rest is pretty much self explanatory! Bon Appétit!


Ingredients:
- very ripe platains, sliced either diagonally, length-wise or in small circles for chips
- vegetable oil 
- salt & pepper


Directions: 
1. Heat about 1/2-inch of oil in a skillet over medium heat. Wait until your oil is shimmering. 

2. Add the plantains, a few pieces at a time, and sauté until lightly browned. Turn and sauté the opposite side. Be very careful not to burn the little guys. Watch your heat carefully!
3. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate and repeat with the rest of the plantains. Sprinkle with a little salt serve hot. If you have a lot of platanos to make, you can keep them warm in the oven.

Here are some more pictures of cooking up the platanos: 

  

or... from a different time when we made the `chip` cut variety:

Yum. Yum. Yum. Enjoy!