Ocean Plantain a la Mexicana | Vegan Plantain Recipe (2024)

Seared plantains doused in a luscious fire roasted tomato sauce with a couple of nori sheets to evoke a hint of sea flavour. Inspired, adapted and veganised from the popular Shrimp a la Mexicana dish. A delicious plantain recipe.

One thing that living in Canada has taught me — you can never go wrong with a well stocked pantry at anytime of the year. Most of the time, I try to get hold of fresh ingredients. But, while a well stocked pantry goes without saying for the long winter months, if you don’t live close to amenities, then it is a definite life saver during the warmer months too. Of the many items that go into my pantry staples list, canned tomatoes are undoubtedly among the first. Tomatoes are the soul of so many dishes — from the Mauritian rougaille to the daube and not forgetting our Mauritian-style macaroni and curries, to name a few.

Tomatoes are one of the highest pesticide sprayed vegetables in the world. Hence organic tomatoes, apart from their superior taste, are my preferred choice for their higher nutritional value. But not all canned organic tomatoes are created equal. So, when it comes to tomatoes and especially canned ones, I am rather diligent. Moving from brand to brand, I have tried almost all that I could find on the shelves and online. I recently came across a range of canned tomatoes from Muir Glen.

After I ordered a couple of cans online in the Fire Roasted Diced and Basil Crushed Tomatoes varieties, both Kevin and I were hooked. The tomatoes from other brands that we have tried can be rather pasty. Moreover, a lot of brands pre-cook their tomatoes to more than what I consider ideal.

The Muir Glen ones are smooth with a nice robust flavour. They are treated just to the right amount; you really can tell from their gorgeous bright and fresh taste. For Kevin, these tomatoes brought back memories of the garden-grown tomatoes that he used to enjoy when he was a kid. They are even suitable for salsa recipes where you would usually use fresh tomatoes.

So, when Muir Glen asked us if we would like to review their products, we were more than happy. The pantry was already stocked with a few tins of their tomatoes; we have been using them for a few months now and haven’t felt the need to try out another brand.

Win Muir Glen tomato products

(details in French to follow, détails en français ci-dessous)

If you have not had the chance to try these organic tomatoes yet, I am excited to announce that Muir Glen is offering a prize pack to one lucky reader/subscriber of the Veganlovlie blog/channel.

To participate it is very simple. Tell us some of your best tips to host a successful fuss-free summer party. Just leave us a comment on the blog below then enter via the widget below.

Do you go for recipes that you can make in advance? Or maybe you mostly serve store-bought pre-made food to save time and effort? These are a few examples, just share some of your best tips.

You can gain additional entries with social shares! You have until June 27th, 2016 to enter.

Contest is open to Canadian residents only (including Quebec). Winners will be selected at random and notified by email. The winner must respond within 48 hours of email notification. The winners will be required to answer a skill-testing question.

Gagner des produits de tomates biologiques Muir Glen

Si vous n’avez pas encore eu la chance d’essayer ces tomates biologiques, je suis heureuse d’annoncer que Muir Glen offre un ensemble de prix à un chanceux lecteur / abonné du blog ou la chaine Youtube Veganlovlie.
Pour y participer, il est très simple. Dites-nous quels sont vos meilleurs conseils pour organiser une fête d’été sans chichi avec succès. Il suffit de nous laisser un commentaire sur le blog puis entrez via le widget ci-dessous.
Optez-vous pour des recettes que vous pouvez faire à l’avance? Ou peut-être vous préférez les aliments préfaites achetés en magasin pour gagner du temps et pour moins d’efforts? Quoi qu’il en soit, ce sont là quelques exemples, partagez simplement certains de vos meilleurs conseils.
Vous pouvez gagner des entrées supplémentaires avec des partages sur les réseaux sociaux! Vous avez jusqu’au 27 juin 2016 pour y participer.
Le concours est ouvert aux résidents canadiens seulement (le Québec inclus). Les gagnants seront choisis au sort et avisés par courriel. Le gagnant doit répondre dans les 48 heures suivant la notification par email. Les gagnants devront répondre à une question d’habileté.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Summer is already here and it’s the time of the year where we live to get together and meet with friends and family over good food, drink and conversation. Hosting a dinner party at home can sometimes be a little daunting. But it doesn’t have to be. My own little tip for a simple and stress-free party hosting is planning well in advance. Since I love cooking, most of the food that I serve are homemade with a few store-bought snacks. I try to prepare a selection of nibbles that freeze well like these Sweet Potato Tofu Wontons that are just as tasty when fried too. Burger patties made in advance provide much convenience. Then for the main meal, I make sure it’s a recipe that can come together rather easily and can feed a crowd. I like to feature ingredients that are less commonly known but that may prove to be interesting and spark conversations among guests.

During my pre-vegan days, seafood is one ingredient that would especially be served during summer parties. But vegan parties have proved to be equally if not more than tempting with the array of recipes that I have been able to create, veganise or come across. Many times, the vegan food that I’ve brought for office summer potluck parties has been a real hit.

With seafood in mind, this Ocean Plantain a la Mexicana recipe is sure to win your heart this summer. This recipe has been adapted and veganised from this Shrimp a la Mexicana recipe.

If my memory is not escaping me, I first discovered Mexican cuisine a few years ago, while living in England. It’s one of those cuisine that I had no trouble adapting to. I quickly became quite fond of spicy black bean and rice burritos, guacamole and fresh tomato salsa which is just like the Mauritian tomato chutney.

In many aspects, I find Mexican cuisine to be quite reminiscent of Mauritian cuisine. Bold flavours from chilli peppers along with other native ingredients like tomatoes are expressly evocative of the base ingredients in many Mexican as well as Mauritian recipes.

Green bananas are commonly used in Mauritius as a starchy vegetable in curries. Plantains are not a particularly Mauritian ingredient but they make good substitutes for recipes that call for green bananas. Most of the time, bananas are available semi-ripe in the stores; their very green counterparts are less common. Once the bananas have started to ripen, they become unsuitable for savoury preparations, in sauces, curries or stews.

Unlike bananas, plantains can be used green, semi-ripe or ripe in many savoury recipes. Infact, plantains have to be properly cooked before consuming otherwise they may cause stomach cramps. Substituting shrimp with plantain makes an interesting vegan option. A few crumbled nori sheets tossed into the sauce brings forth the seafood flavour, hence the name “Ocean Plantain”. The luscious fire roasted tomatoes from Muir Glen adds a totally new dimension to the overall dish. Coriander leaves (or cilantro) balance out the heat with their cooling freshness. Some avocados tossed in at the end, add creaminess that round off the dish.

Watch our video review of Muir Glen organic tomato and follow on the step-by-step recipe.

Ocean Plantain a la Mexicana

Adapted and veganised from this Shrimp a la Mexicana recipe.

Ingredients (serve 3 – 4)

2 plantains (either green or semi-ripe)
2 large cloves garlic, peeled, finely chopped
1/2 small white/yellow onion, finely diced
1 fresh jalapeno chiles (or 2 – 3 fresh serrano), stemmed, finely chopped
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
½ teaspoon coriander seed powder
½ teaspoon paprika
2 – 3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups Muir Glen Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes, undrained, either jarred or canned
1 – 2 sheets nori 1 large avocado, halved, pitted, diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Salt to taste

Cover the plantains, unpeeled, with water in a large pot. Cover and bring to a boil. Boil for about 30 – 45 minutes or until the peel has soften and start to open easily.

Meanwhile prepare the vegetables – peel and chop the onions and garlic. Stem and chop the chiles.

Once plantains are boiled. Remove from the water and allow to cool. Then peel and slice them into discs of about 5-mm or ¼-inch thick. Place in a mixing bowl. Add the coriander seed powder and paprika. Toss and mix well.

Lightly coat a large nonstick skillet or cast iron pan with olive oil and set over medium-high heat. Once heated, add plantain slices in a single, uncrowded layer (work in batches if necessary). When plantains pick up a nice golden colour and are slightly crispy on one side, about 5 minutes, flip them over and cook until golden and slightly crispy, about 3 minutes more. Lightly season with salt. Remove all plantains and set aside.

Before moving on to making the sauce, toast the nori sheets directly on the flame or hot plate by lightly touching them in the heat. Turn them around and keep touching them with the heat until they feel crisp. Set them aside for now.

You may give the skillet a quick rinse, before moving on, to remove any spices that may have deposited. When these spices get roasted furthermore in additional oil, they may produce an unpleasant taste.

In the same skillet, add 1 more tablespoon of olive oil. Once heated, add the onions, garlic and chiles. Saute for about 3 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and cook for another 3 minutes.

Crumble the nori sheets into the pan and stir.

Add in the plantains along with the lemon juice and salt to taste. Cook for another 3 minutes.

Add avocado and remove from the heat. Garnish with coriander leaves (cilantro). Serve.

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Full Disclosure:This post is sponsored by Muir Glen.We only endorse products and services that we like, enjoy, use and that we believe, based on our experience, are worthy of such endorsem*nt. We value the trust of our readers and subscribers. We believe in honesty of relationship and opinion. We received a small selection of Muir Glen products and we were also compensated for our time.The views and opinions expressed on this blog and in the video are 100% ours.

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