Friday November 18th, 2022

Dry, crunchy and very tasty. The recipe, of uncertain origin, is widely eaten in Latin America, especially in Ecuador and Peru, where it goes with soups, ceviches, carne-seca, toasted corn and beer. In Brazil, it is super popular as a snack in the middle of the day.

Here’s how easy it is to make this healthy, tasty, and very easy snack, which holds only one secret: to be perfect, the banana still needs to be green.

INGREDIENTS
– 3 green bananas
– zest of 1 lemon
– cumin powder to taste
– salt to taste
– 3 cups oil for frying

PREPARATION
1. Cut the bananas in half, widthwise – this way they get smaller, easier to peel and to go through the vegetable slicer. Make a longitudinal cut in the peel and pull with a knife to peel each piece of banana – the peel of the green plantain is stickier to the pulp.
2. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Attention: the oil cannot be too hot, otherwise instead of crispy and dry, the bananas may burn. If you have a cooking thermometer, consider a temperature of about 160°C. Line a large platter (or baking pan) with paper towels.
3. Place the vegetable slicer over the pan and slice the bananas lengthwise little by little – this way they fall directly into the hot oil. Be careful not to put too many slices at once and run the risk of them sticking to each other. Let one banana portion fry for about 2 minutes, stirring with a skimmer to fry evenly. Watch the timing, it’s fast: the oil stops foaming, the bananas change color to a brighter yellow, and become crispy.
4. Transfer the banana chips to the dish lined with paper towels and repeat the process with the rest of the fruit.
5. Season the banana chips with cumin, salt and the lemon zest. Serve afterwards.

Will you follow this recipe?