Fried plantains with black beans

This isn’t a recipe with very specific measurements.

Ingredients:

1 plantain per person.

1/2-1 c. black beans, per person. These could be canned or cooked from dried beans.

Sour cream, to taste.

2-3 Tbs. queso cotija, crumbled. Look for it at Mexican supermarkets, or perhaps big supermarkets carry it in some places.

Preparation:

If you cook the black beans from dried beans, you will need to start the beans many hours ahead of time, although not as many hours if you have a pressure cooker. If you use canned black beans, you can warm them up at the end. Back when I used canned black beans, I would gently sauté some garlic in the pan with a tablespoon of olive oil before adding the beans in all at once.

Peel the plantains just like you would a banana. Slice the plantains along a slight diagonal so that you have slices with an oval-shaped top and bottom that are about 1/2 in. thick. Set aside.

Cover the bottom of a frying pan with vegetable oil so that it’s about 1/4 in. deep. Turn the heat to medium, and let the oil warm up a bit.

Place the plantain slices in the oil. I usually do this with a fork. The slices can touch, but they should not overlap. Let them fry, turning them over once they are brown, which will take several minutes. Once both sides are nicely browned, remove the slices carefully, using the fork, and set them on a plate. You can put two paper towels on the plate to absorb some of the oil. If you are frying more than one plantain, you will need to fry in batches (about one plantain, sliced, can fry at a time in my pan).

Once the plantains are ready, serve them on top of the black beans. Add sour cream and queso cotija to taste. Yum!