Baked Ripe Plantain

People often fry plantains while a tad too young, when they are not yet fully sweet - those will be better baked.

Choose a ripe one. Remove the skin. You can dot with butter or brush with oil and wrap whole in foil and bake on the oven rack along with roasts or set it whole beside your chicken in the pan about 15 minutes before the chicken’s done (earlier if the plantain is not very ripe). It will crisp up on the outside in the chicken fat.

Or you can cut in two and slice again, horizontally in two. Place sliced sides down in a greased casserole dish, pour over the juice of one orange (per plantain), sprinkle on a little ground cinnamon and a tsp of grated orange zest and bake in a moderate oven (180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4) for 20 minutes. You can even add a spoon, or two of honey or guava jelly if you really like them sweet. This is still regarded as a side dish - not a dessert.