Hey guys, I’m so excited to share with you my Plantain and Cream Cheese Dip! I loooove plantain, it’s one of my favourite comfort foods and it never fails to make my tummy smile. I was making a cream cheese recipe one day and it suddenly occurred to me that I could experiment with plantain as the main ingredient. I’m so happy that I had this light bulb moment because it has led me to create this wonderful dip that can be part of an entrée, a healthy-ish snack in the middle of the day or even a dessert.
For those of you who don’t know what plantain is, it’s a fruit that’s related to bananas but has more starch and less sugar which makes it more robust when it comes to cooking. They are a staple ingredient in African and Caribbean cooking. For this recipe you want to cook the plantains when they turn a dark yellow colour with some brown markings on the skin; they should also feel soft when you prod them. Plantains vary in their sweetness so experiment with the quantity you add to the dip in order to suit your taste buds.
In order to cut down on the calories I oven baked, instead of deep frying, my plantain; I used ‘light’ cream cheese instead of the full fat version. And, in order to reduce the chances of a huge sugar spike after eating this dip, I used agave nectar instead of processed white sugar. I love the addition of Sriracha Sauce (my new favourite condiment), which gives that subtle sweet chilli flavour. I’m so proud that I created this recipe after just one attempt, but I think I’ll keep on tweaking it until I reach the height of plantain perfection…..this, I believe is my destiny!
Lately I’ve been inspired by the food photography of Sugar et al., a blog created by Sonali, who is a lady that lives in Australia. Sonali was a banker, but then became a food blogger and is now a food stylist and photographer for a number of prominent magazines. Wow! She is such an inspiration, especially because her photography is self-taught. I love the moody style of her photographs – they are truly divine and make me hungry to taste her creations! I decided to challenge myself and try to shoot the pictures you see here in the same fashion. It’s quite a change from my usual style, because my food photography to date has been very bright, but I really loved the drama that a darker background gives to the food.
Do check out Sugar et al. and be inspired to get creative with food and to follow your passions. I challenge you to see if you can combine cream cheese with an unusual ingredient – you never know what you could create. Its snack time for me now, so guess what I’m having?? More Plantain & Cream Cheese dip pleeeaaaasee!!
• • •
P.S. Don’t forget to subscribe: insert your name & email below, then click the ‘subscribe’ button.
[email-subscribers namefield=”YES” desc=”” group=”Public”]
• • •
Serves 10 
Prep: 60 mins 
Difficulty level: Easy
Ingredients:
- 1 & 1/2 large, ripe plantains (but you can vary this amount to suit your taste)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 280 grams Light Philadelphia Medium Fat Soft Cream Cheese
- 2 tsp Sriracha Sauce
- 1 Tbsp & 1 Tsp Agave Nectar
- 1 small handful chives, roughly chopped (approximately 1 Tbsp)
Method:
- Preheat your oven to 200°C (if using a fan oven) or 220°C (if using a standard oven), and line a baking tray with aluminium foil.
- Peel the plantain and slice into 1 cm thick circles. Place the sliced plantain into a bowl, pour in the olive oil then toss to coat.
- Arrange the plantain on the lined baking tray.
- Bake the plantain for about 20 to 30 minutes. You want it to be cooked through and browned but not burnt. Remove the plantain from the baking tray and place on a plate. Leave to cool down to room temperature.
- Once the plantain is cool, throw all the ingredients into a food processor (i.e., plantain, cream cheese, Sriracha sauce, Agave nectar and chives) and blitz until smooth and creamy. (N.B. Plantain can vary in sweetness, so I would add the Agave nectar gradually and adjust the amount you use to your taste. And if you don’t like chilli, just omit the Sriracha sauce.)
- Serve with plantain chips, crackers, vegetables or just grab a spoon and eat it straight (that’s what I did!)
• • •
P.S. Don’t forget to subscribe: insert your name & email below, then click the ‘subscribe’ button.
[email-subscribers namefield=”YES” desc=”” group=”Public”]
