Do you remember the saying “we’re all unique”? You need to know other cultures to understand and appreciate your own. This is a lesson that has taken me years to learn, and by learning about other countries’ foods I have understood ours better, and what makes it unique, even if ultimately it is something that is shared with other countries. In the end it’s the sum of its parts that makes it “unique”. 
We are not the only country with a penchant for mixing sweet and savory in our meals. In fact Danes serve a similar dish to this one, made with summer potatoes, which are served caramelized. It adds a touch of sweet to the Danish meal, although more discreet as potatoes are not as sweet as ripe plantains. Several Asian countries add sugar or fruits to their foods in an attempt to tame the fiercely spicy flavors in their cooking. And, of course, we must mention that both Puerto Rico and Cuba also serve ripe plantains with their meals. 
But if you didn’t read all of the above you would suspect we misplaced this recipe and put it with the side dishes instead of the desserts. No, it wasn’t a mistake. As a matter of fact, this is a favorite Dominican side dish. Sure, Dominicans might have overdone it a bit on the sweet side with this one, but this really is a crowd pleaser, and for a reason. 
The twist to my plátanos maduros al caldero (caramelized plantains) is rum. These are grown-up plantains, but if you want to serve them to children or anyone who would object to the rum, feel free to leave it out. Try it , I assure you that you’ll like it. 10 million people can’t be wrong.
Aunt Clara
Platanos al caldero are not a dessert. You heard right. It is a side dish that pleases our taste for mixing the sweet and savory.
Ingredients
- 3 very ripe plantains (see notes)
- 4 tablespoons of oil
- 4 cinnamon sticks cut into 1" pieces
- 1/2 cup of brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons of rum (optional)
- Salt
Instructions
- Peel the plantains and cut into halves.
- Stick the cinnamon into the plantains.
- In a skillet heat the oil over medium heat, add the plantains and fry and rotate until golden brown all around.
- In a separate container mix 1 cup of water, sugar, rum, and a pinch of salt.
- Pour this mix into the frying pan (careful with splatters!).
- Lower the heat and cook and rotate until the plantains caramelize there is some syrup left.
- Serve immediately.
Important Notes
Your plantains MUST be very ripe for this to work. The peel should be almost black and the plantain a bit mushy when you squeeze it.
Aunt Clara's Kitchen is a collection of traditional Dominican and Dominican-inspired recipes, home ideas, crafts, and the chronicles of Aunt Clara and Aunt Ilana's adventures.
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
so when you say stick the cloves and sticks into the platain do you mean that literally? i thought that you would add those to the remaining ingredients to it gets those flavor.
Yep, literally. Your plantains will look like Pinhead from Hellraiser.
I'm assuming its close to bananas, and that i can use bananas instead?! oh -drools!
Jesica, yes, they are close to bananas but also entirely different fruits. While I assume you could do this with bananas and call it a dessert (I've never done that) the result is a totally different beast. You can find plantains anywhere there is a Caribbean, Latino or African shop.
Deliciosos como guarnición o como postre con helado de vainilla … mi secretito es echarles un poquito de brandy, Mmm…
por favor traducir la pagina al espan~ol
En el menú principal en letra grande hay un enlace que dice “Español”.
recuerdos de mi querida abuelita…
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