1616. SMOKY PLANTAIN CREMA with BACON and CHILE PEPPERS

yields two cups


1 chipotle chile
1 tablespoon chipotle vinegar or Spanish sherry vinegar
2 1/2 ounces smoky bacon, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 poblano pepper, stemmed, seeded, and minced
1/2 large red onion, diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 Scotch bonnet chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon annatto seeds
1 bay leaf, broken in half
1 teaspoon toasted and ground cumin seeds
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 cups heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 very ripe plantain (the skin should be almost black)

Toast the chipotle in a small skillet over medium heat. Remove the stem and seeds.

Combine the vinegar and toasted chipotle in a small bowl. Set aside to soften.

In a medium pot, cook the bacon in the olive oil over medium-low heat until beginning to crisp. Turn the heat up to medium, add the poblano, onion, carrot, garlic, and Scotch bonnet, and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the vegetables begin to soften, about 4 minutes.

Add the annatto seeds and stir. Then add the chipotle-vinegar mixture, the bay leaf, cumin, and 1 teaspoon pepper, and simmer until almost all of the liquid has evaporated, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the orange juice and simmer until only a small amount of liquid remains, 4 to 6 minutes.

Add the chicken stock and reduce almost to a glaze, about 7 minutes (you'll know it is done when the bubbles start getting bigger). Add the heavy cream and vanilla bean, stir, and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, until the cream in quite thick. Pass the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer; discard the solids. Reserve.

In a sauté pan, heat the canola oil. Add the plantain, season with salt and pepper, and cook over medium heat, turning occasionally, until dark golden brown on all sides. Transfer to a paper towel to drain.

In a blender, puree the plantain with the strained liquid. If any lumps of plantain remain, strain one more time. Refrigerate until needed; this will keep for 4 or 5 days.


bacon recipe courtesy of: Norman Van Aken, New World Kitchen, Epicurious.com, April 2003

1332. JERK CHICKEN BREAST stuffed with BACON and BANANA

makes one serving

one free-range chicken breast
one soft cooked strip of bacon
approximately 1/3 peeled banana
2 scallion sprigs

Jerk Marinade:
1 1/2 teaspoon dry ground pimento
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
1 teaspoon dry ground ginger
1 teaspoon garlic, finely minced
1 teaspoon scotch bonnet pepper, finely minced
2 tablespoons yellow onion, minced
1 tablespoon scallion, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 cup Jamaican dark rum
1/2 cup cola
cooking oil
salt and pepper to taste

Heat a saucepan, add a small amount of oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Heat the oil and then sweat the onion. Add the scallions, garlic, peppers, ginger and dried spices. Sweat these briefly and then flame with the rum. When the flame dies, add the cola and simmer until it is near dry, like a paste. Stir frequently. Allow to cool. Make a slit in one end of the chicken breast and cut the inside of the breast so as to make a hollow. Be careful not to cut through the breast. Wrap the partially cooked bacon around the piece of banana and insert it into the hollow of the chicken breast along with the two scallion sprigs. Rub the cooled jerk paste over the chicken breast until it is well coated. Allow to marinate overnight for best result. Grill over medium heat until chicken breast is cooked through. For best presentation, cut in two and cock on plate. Serve with a warm Rum and cola tomato chutney and grilled yams wedges.


courtesy of: Epicurious.com, June 11, 2005