Garlic and Onions

(always leave unpeeled): Medium-low heat, allowing 8 minutes for garlic cloves, 15–20 minutes for small onions, 20–25 minutes for medium onions. All should be turned frequently. Large onions should be halved crosswise and roasted for about 20 minutes; turn frequently and don’t worry about the charring of the cut surfaces. Set aside the roasted vegetables until cool enough to handle, then peel over a bowl to save any juices. Scrape away the blackened surface of halved onions.

Plantains are great in different fried forms. But the original way of preparing them — still one of the best — was boiled and mashed. This is how they were cooked in West Africa before they came to the New World. Even now some form of mashed plantains is common to all the Afro-Caribbean cultures. You will find that the green ones are intensely starchy and therefore taste best when eaten very hot. (The texture becomes too dense on cooling.)