My new favorite recipe I have been using is a combination of local and seasonal product.
Fresh fish, shrimp, lobster in our region should be a staple on every plate if possible.
The other product we simply love is plantains, either maduro, ripe, or verde, green and hard.
The green ones we double fry crispy and use as a side chip or presentation piece, the ripe one are cooked down sweet to a sauce that’s creamy and thick from the starch of the plantain.
FRIED PLANTAINS
First The Crispy:
• Cut the plantain into one-inch pieces, heat oil to 350. Make sure the product is dry before dropping in the oil to prevent splatter and burns
• Fry for 8 minutes
• Drain on paper towel, let cool
• Between plastic wrap, press flat with a sauce pan or bottom of a glass. This is not an aggressive movement, press with your hand to get extra thin
• Drop back in oil and fry to golden brown and crispy
For The Sauce:
• 3 cloves of thinly sliced garlic
• 1 ripe tomato, chopped
• 1 ripe plantain, diced
• 1 can coconut milk
• 2 tbsp sweet chili sauce
• Jimmy T’s Hot Sauce
• Olive oil, salt and pepper
Method of Prep
• Sauté garlic in a generous amount of olive oil over medium high heat
• When golden brown, add tomatoes, cook for 5 minutes until well blended, and soft
• Add plantain, cook 2 minutes
• Add coconut milk
• Add sweet chili sauce, turn off heat and allow to cool and thicken
• When ready to serve over fish or chicken, reheat and season with Jimmy T’s Hot Sauce to your preference
It’s that easy! Enjoy
As a former chef on a megayacht, Jimmy T’s owner Jimmy Tancrell, often had difficulty finding local suppliers who could provide the foodstuffs and condiments necessary for the gourmet meals expected by his clients. During long days at sea under star-filled skys, the crew and staff would talk about their dreams of ‘life after yachting’. And for Jimmy Tancrell a dream was born … to provide a service for other ‘yachty’ chefs who were in the same boat as Jimmy so far as the need for adequately stocking their galleys with condiments, spices, good beef, fresh vegetables, fruits and cheeses.
Life after yachting led him to Los Suenos at Herradura on Costa Rica’s Central Pacific coast where Jimmy had already discovered the year ’round availability of wonderful fresh fruits and vegetables offered on Fridays at Jaco’s Mercado Movil or farmers market. A store became available dockside at Los Suenos and Jimmy T’s Provisions and Gourmet foods opened in May 2007.
Jimmy T’s Provisions & Gourmet Foods • Los Suenos Marina Shop • 011-506-2637-8636 • Cell (Costa Rica) 8682-7090