Bananas Over a Picky Eater

Or Really Plantains

      Every mother dreams of having a child that will eat everything.  Let's face it though this is rarely the case.  Mine is a lover of fruit, milk, juice and really anything sugary.  From time to time he will surprise me and eat something out of the ordinary.  A few weeks back I made Chicken Enchiladas Mexican style and he loved them.  He ate every bite!  It made me feel so happy.  Unfortunately,  I can't feed him those everyday.  Mommy, Daddy and Grandma can't take all those fried tortillas.

     So in an effort to come up with something that he might eat today I looked no further than the ripe plantains sitting on my kitchen counter.  Yes, they look like a bananas, but they are not.  People that grew up in the Caribbean or South America are familiar with this type of fruit that is very similar to a banana.  If you have never heard of it never fear here is a crash course.

    Plantains are bigger, firmer bananas.  They can be eaten when green either fried, roasted or boiled.  They have a slight nutty flavor when green.  As the plantain ages it gets sweeter and softer just like a banana.  At this stage it can be eaten roasted, fried or as a dessert sweet.

     Since my kid loves bananas I figured I could use this to come up with a meal he might like.  I took a ripe plantain and cut the ends off.  I peeled it and cut a slice off the bottom to be able to lay it on a sheet tray.  I cut out the middle of the plantain to make what looks like a boat.  My mother used to make a dish that she called "canoes" when I was a child.  That dish had ground beef and American cheese.  I really liked it when I was a child, but seeing that my kid won't touch ground beef that didn't help me any.  So I decided to keep the idea but modify the contents. I took the plantain insides as well as some finely cut yellow pepper (red would have been better) and sauteed with chili powder, salt and pepper.  I set that mixture aside to wait for the chicken.  The canoes I placed in the oven to bake until they softened about 20 minutes.

     I roasted chicken in the oven and seasoned it with chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. After 30 minutes or so I took it out of the oven and let the meat rest.  Yes, you have to let meat rest after its cooked otherwise all the juices will run out of the meat and you will have dry meat.  (Yes this is also the main reason Thanksgiving turkey is usually dry)  Don't worry it won't get cold after ten minutes.  I then shredded the meat and mixed it with the yellow pepper and plantain mixture.  I stuffed the little canoes and topped them with goat cheese. Goat cheese tends to be a little salty and it brings a nice contrast to the sweet banana and spicy meat.   I placed them back in the oven just to melt the cheese for about 5 to 7 minutes.

     As Murphy's law would have it my kid got hungry the moment I started cooking.  He loved the shredded chicken and by the time I finished with dinner he was stuffed so he didn't actually really eat much of the dish.  Grandma and me enjoyed it very much and I am positive if I can catch his hunger early he would really like this dish.  They way I see it mission accomplished.  He ate something other than fruit and when feeding a three year old, beggars can't be choosers.