I can’t believe it — this is my last column of the semester. I am sad about this, to say the least. From caterpillars to taro roots to kava, thank you so much for joining me on this culinary adventure. What a long, strange trip it’s been. I hope this column, if nothing else, has helped you appreciate the weird, wonderful diversity of food that exists on this planet — and what a remarkable selection of things turn out to be edible. I hope I’ve opened your horizons, but if you’ve tuned in each week just to be grossed out and laugh at me, that’s fine too. Still, as we part ways, I’d like to encourage you to take the plunge. Eat something you’re not familiar with. If it’s cooked properly, the worst thing that’s likely to happen is that you don’t like it.
I was torn about what I wanted my last food to be. I had to go out with a bang, you know? Initially, I had planned to make something with fufu flour, a type of root-based flour that is popular in Africa. Above all, I like this food’s name, but it’s interesting, too — many African cultures make fufu dumplings that they eat with soups and stews. You are not supposed to chew fufu, though. Instead, you use it as a utensil to deliver food to your mouth, before swallowing it whole. When I prepared it, I completely ignored this standard preparation (because I happen to like chewing) and discovered that fufu was delicious when fried in butter and served with maple syrup. This might have been a first in the world of fufu, but I was still willing to share it with you. However, upon an ingredients check, I discovered that this cocoyam fufu flour only contained cassava (yuca) and taro, which I had already written about.
Instead, I think it’s appropriate to sign off with a tried-and-true favorite that, though somewhat uncommon in America, has a major international presence: the plantain. I first learned about plantains from my seventh grade French class, when we were learning about “les francophones” in Africa. Thanks colonialism! Plantains are a staple of C?te d’Ivoire’s cuisine and, needless to say, I’ve been a fan ever since I tried to cook one for extra credit. Plantains look a lot like bananas, but they are starchier and more substantial than their counterparts. Like bananas, they are rich in fiber and potassium, but they are tougher and therefore aren’t usually eaten raw. Their ready availability, sweet/savory flavor and easy preparation make them a staple food in much of Africa and South America, to the point where they’re commonly referred to as “cooking bananas.”
Because I am young and wild and free, I didn’t follow a recipe for plantains; instead, I took a potentially uncreative approach and made what essentially turned out to be Plantains Foster. But seriously, you should try this one.
First, buy some plantains. It’s okay if they’re pretty brown on the outside, that won’t negatively affect their flavor. Plantains can be fried when under ripe, but when they’re cooked when ripe or overripe, they caramelize. Slice them into disks. Roll each disk in brown sugar. Fry the disks in a mixture of peanut oil and rum. Serve with vanilla ice cream and peanuts. And you’re done! It might lack the fire and bombast of actual Bananas Foster — mostly because I somehow forgot about the light-everything-on-fire part — but seriously, this dessert is delicious. And did I mention that it’s easy?
Thanks for everything, dear readers. Happy eating. And if you’re up for it, find me on campus and we can eat bugs together.
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Melissa MacEwen is a junior majoring in biology and English. She can be reached at melissa.macewen@tufts.edu.
