Tajadas, or maduros, are fried sliced ripe plantains, and a typical addition to breakfast, lunch, and dinner all throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Ripe plantains, like ripe bananas, are particularly candy, and frying them caramelizes their sugars for a wealthy sugary aspect dish. Regardless of their sweetness, tajadas are sometimes served as an accompaniment to savory dishes, adorned with shredded cheese or served with savory dipping sauces. Nevertheless, we consulted Colombian-born chef Ronaldo Linares on the best way to remodel tajadas right into a dessert course.

You will nonetheless execute the basic deep-fried recipe for these easy coin-shaped candy plantains, however as a substitute of sprinkling them with salt, as is conventional, Linares opts for a extra elaborate candy coating. He says, “I might take some Irish butter and add it to a pan, soften it on low warmth, add brown sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon, and dissolve, creating one thing like a caramel. Add the tajadas and serve with some ice cream.”

A caramel sauce will deliver a sticky layer to distinction the tender, pillowy pulp of the plantain. The vanilla and cinnamon mixture provides an fragrant, spiced complement that may actually improve all that caramelized sweetness. Ice cream is the chilly creamy distinction that may all the time take a heat dessert to decadent heights. In spite of everything, à la mode is the popular method to eat any form of fruity dessert, from apple pie to banana splits.

Ronaldo Linares’ suggestion for tajadas in caramel sauce with ice cream comes fairly near the well-known, theatrical New Orleans specialty, bananas Foster. So go forward and make it a tajadas Foster by spiking the caramel sauce with darkish rum and banana liqueur. For an additional New Orleans-inspired twist, you can add tajadas Foster to this recipe for bananas Foster king cake. You might additionally prime this coconut macadamia french toast recipe with tajadas Foster (or just candy tajadas) for an indulgent brunch.

Chop tajadas up into chunks and add them to bread pudding with a buttery brown sugar and vanilla sauce. Or use tajadas because the sugary, starchy base as a substitute of bananas in a banana the other way up cake, drizzling coconut glaze over it for a bit of tropical aptitude. Swap banana slices with tajadas in a basic banana pudding that includes trifle-style layers of vanilla custard, whipped cream, and vanilla wafers.

If you wish to maintain issues tremendous easy, simply use store-bought condiments and toppings to remodel tajadas into an ice cream sundae. Vanilla ice cream is the basic alternative for a sundae, however salted caramel, chocolate, coconut, and strawberry cheesecake ice lotions would all pair effectively with tajadas. High your concoction with drizzles of sweetened condensed milk, caramel sauce, and chocolate sauce, dollops of berry compote, and a sprinkling of chopped peanuts, and shredded coconut.