Cream of Green Plantain
(Banann Grajé)
Chef Natacha Gomez
"Growing up in Haiti, our family meals were one of the most important times we interacted during the day. Everything from breakfast, dinner, to French style suppers, was served at the same time each day since Haiti's Northern territories kept many of their dining habits from the French. We all had different schedules, for example, at the time school hours were broken down into two daily sessions. The first from 8am to 11am, and the second from 1:45pm to 4pm, but when it came to eating, we would all be home on time. Everyone from the cook that prepped the meals downs to the gardener who opened the gate when we arrived.
As a child, I was never a fan of breakfast, but I would dream of the day I would finally have my first full cup of coffee. My grandma was notorious for only allowing us to have a cup that contained a tear of coffee and 3/4cups of water. In order to convince me to eat breakfast, my family offered to make me cream of plantain (banann grajé) which was music to my ears since it was a sweet but hardy dish.
It was not till later in my career, when I was promoting sustainable eating, that I realized that this traditional dish not only highlights the importance of plantains in Caribbean meals but was also one of the most sustainable products of our diets: plantains are locally grown, available all year long, affordable, nutritious, plant-based, gluten-free and the recipe uses the whole plant, hence ticks the zero waste box, too. That was the day I fell completely in love with a breakfast dish from my childhood.
Cream of Plantain is a dish that demonstrates what we have to aim for to ensure good food for all."
– Natacha Gomez –
Ingredients
1 green plantain (keep the skin on)
3 cups of water
2 cups of evaporated milk
½ tsp of salt
½ ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp butter
1 tbsp dark molasses
¼ cup sugar
Method
- Wash the plantain, dice it with the skin on and blend with 2 cups of water puree until smooth.
- In a saucepan put 1 cup of water and bring to a boil, add the plantain puree and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes, add the nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and molasses continue to stir. Lower the heat
- Add the milk and vanilla extract and cook for 5 more minutes and continue to stir while it cooks. Add the butter and remove from the heat.
- Serve hot.
Notes from the Chef
To make this dish plant-based – according to Chefs’ Manifesto, area six –
substitute the evaporated milk for almond milk and use any plant-based butter of your choice.
Back in colonial times, the plantain was grated on the finest side of a grater
hence the name (Banann grajé.) To save time we use a blender.
