A Day to Celebrate Haiti's Flag, and Its Foods

[elleng]

'After six hours of cooking, my aunt Margaret Moise finally sat down at a table covered with a medley of dishes from her native Haiti. She had spent the day in my parents’ kitchen on Staten Island teaching her daughter and nieces, including me, to cook the food she grew up eating on holidays like Haitian Flag Day, celebrated on May 18.

A day once marked by compulsory demonstrations of national pride under the dictator François Duvalier, it is now observed as the highlight of an entire month of heritage celebrations for the Haitian diaspora.

Silent clips of Kanaval revelers adjusting their headdresses played on the television in the corner while my aunt recounted memories from her childhood in Port-au-Prince. “When there were special parades the government was doing, it was like you were forced” to go, she said.

“It’s not ‘like’ we were forced,” my father, Gabriel, interjected from across the crowded table. “We were forced!”'>>>

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/14/dining/haiti-flag-day-cooking.html?

Crisp Fried Plantains

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019310-crisp-fried-plantains

[msongs]

1. account required for the recipes link nt

[elleng]

2. Crisp Fried Plantains

Roxanne Fequiere
Yield 4 servings
Time 30 minutes

Salt water is the key to making these golden, starchy disks crisp and salty. Smashed and fried plantains are a popular staple around the Caribbean, where they are called tostones, patacones or, in Haiti, where this recipe comes from, banan peze.

Ingredients
½ cup vegetable oil
2 medium-sized green (unripe) plantains, peeled
1 tablespoon fine salt
Nutritional Information
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
233 calories; 14 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 28 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 13 grams sugars; 1 gram protein; 240 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered by Edamam

Preparation
Slice the plantains crosswise into thick slices, about 1 1/4 inches. (You should get about 5 slices per plantain.)
In a bowl large enough to hold the plantains, combine the salt with 1/2 cup water and stir until dissolved. Add plantains and set aside to soak for 15 to 20 minutes.
In a skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat until shimmering.
Working in batches to avoid crowding, add plantain slices to skillet. (Keep the salt water used for soaking). When all the slices are in, sprinkle in about 2 teaspoons of the salt water. (It may splatter; keep a lid or splatter screen handy.)
Cook plantains about 5 minutes, turning once, until golden on both sides and just turning brown at the edges. As they brown, transfer them to paper towels to drain.
On a chopping board, using a broad solid spatula or a tostonera (plantain smasher), press down on each slice to flatten it into a flat round, about 1/4 inch thick and 2 inches wide.
Reheat the oil over medium heat. Dip flattened plantains in the salt water and fry the rounds again for about 1 minute on each side, until crispy and golden brown.
Drain on paper towels and serve immediately.

[The Polack MSgt]

3. Thanks! I like palintains and need more fried carbs in my life!

Not sarcasm AT ALL- I love carbs and frying