Thursday, November 15, 2007

Florida on a plate, biscotti

Last I checked, it's gonna be in the low 30's tonight . . . which is just crazy to me. I decided to warm up by making a wonderful Florida inspired meal of black beans, yellow rice and fried plantains. I grew up eating this food so I still really enjoy eating it, especially with hot sauce splashed all over everything. The black beans had onions, garlic, sea salt, black pepper, oregano, tomato paste and a bit of red wine vinegar at the last minute of cooking. The yellow rice is just a pre-seasoned packet of yellow rice that turned out to be accidentally vegan. OHHH, and fried plantains . . . what until the skin turns black on the plantain (trust me!), peel and thinly slice on a bias, fry in canola oil (or olive oil) on low-medium heat until golden brown. Frying on a lower heat insures the sugars develop in the plantains before they burn. If you've never had a fried plantain, you best get ya one and try it now. It's like eating dessert with your dinner. The beans and rice are usually topped with a thinly chopped sweet onion, but tonight we had red onion, which was still very tasty.
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I also made the hazelnut-chocolate biscotti from Veganomicon (pg. 241) that turned out pretty awesome. It is not a super sweet cookie but has a deep, rich taste. Making biscotti is a two-step process but these are so worth it if you are a biscotti fan. Even though I no longer drink coffee, these were still good on their own . . . and I'm sure even better dunked in a latte made with hazelnut milk.
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6 comments:

Vegan_Noodle said...

I have never had plantains before!! They sound super yummy...
And your biscotti looks so fancy!

Ashasarala said...

It's been a while since I had plantains. You have awakened a new craving! haha

They look delish. :)

bazu said...

Oh my god, you had me at the plantains! Plantains + rice + beans = perfection. And then, the biscotti... way to make me swoon!

Melisser; the Urban Housewife said...

Oh man, I am *dying* for plantains! I've only had them a few times, but they are SO good!

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Ah yes, it's in the 20s here!! So at least your weather is a smidgen warmer than it is here ;0)

I LOVE your idea of a tropical/Florida meal - so fun! I've never had plantains before, but I'm quite intrigued by them...

Oh and the biscotti looks wonderful - I've been eyeing that recipe in Veganomicon (and will use carob of course, haha); and I LOVE hazelnut-milk, so your latte-pairing sounds perfect!

Anna said...

Plz can I have biscotti?

Seriously, it looks perfect, and soooo dark and chocolatey!