This month the team at TSTM are publishing health Paleo recipes. Our professional chef Helena is leading the way with the Paleo challenge we’ve set, but she has asked me to add a couple of recipes in the final week. How can I compete with a professional chef?

Paleo snacks are often a struggle for most people, so I was thinking my first recipe should be a snack. Plantain chips can be eaten hot or cold. You can make up a large batch and save them for snacks. Green plantains are a resistance starch, which makes them suitable for diabetics as resistance starch does not raise insulin levels. Resistance starch is also very healthy for the gut microbiome, you can read more about it here.

This little recipe is very simple and tastes great. It comes with a WARNING…. Once you pop, you can’t stop!! The are bloody delicious and you will want to eat them all at once. Plantain chips are great for a snack, but they can also be added to other dishes to add an extra crunch.

Ingredients:

2 Green Plantains

1cup of Coconut Oil**

1tsp of Paprika

Sea Salt to Taste

** This might seem like a lot of expensive coconut oil yo us, but one you’ve finished allow the coconut oil to cool down and then keep in a separate jar for later use. Coconut oil has a very high smoking point, making it very suitable for frying. Coconut oil is also very healthy in comparison to industrialised seed and vegetable oils.

Steps:

Green plantains are not as easy to peal as a ripe banana, you will need to use a knife to take off the skin.
Use a vegetable peeler down the side of the plantain to create wafer-thin chips
Heat the coconut oil in a medium-size frypan, when you place the plantain chip in the oil it should sizzle immediately. Wait until it gets hot.
While the oil is warming up you will need a bowl or tray with some paper towel in it to sock up any remaining oil on the cooked plantain
Once the oil is hot, carefully place the plantain chips into the oil. You will need to this in small batches. Try not to allow the plantain chips to overlap each other, keep them spaced out in the pan so they don’t stick together.
Cook for 1-2min, slipping them over when they are slightly brown.
Once cooked, remove from the oil and place in the paper towel
Sprinkle with paprika and sea salt
Enjoy