Roasted Sweet Plantains with Coconut Pumpkin Dip

I miss sweet plantains. I used to get them frequently at two restaurants in New Orleans (Velvet Cactus and Rum House), and I ate them obnoxiously slow so I could savor every last bite.

I haven't been to a Houston restaurant with plantains yet, so I decided to try preparing them myself. The one downside to making roasted sweet plantains myself is that IT TAKES FOREVER for plantains to get ripe enough.

The first time I tried to make plantain chips, I was a little too eager and baked them before they were ripe. Fortunately, under-ripe plantains taste like potatoes, so my first try resulted in a batch of "potato" plantain chips!

I knew I needed to be more patient with this second batch. I let the plantains get super dark, and then I still waited a few more days. Success! I wound up with sweet roasted plantain slices, and I served them with a delicious pumpkin dip.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

Plantains:

2 plantains, over-ripe

2 tablespoons coconut oil

cinnamon

Pumpkin Dip: 

1/2 cup canned pumpkin

1 tablespoon almond butter

1 1/2 tablespoons coconut butter

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon coconut milk

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

2. Slice plantains into 1/4 inch thick slices

3. Place slices in a ziplock bag and mix with coconut oil and cinnamon. 

4. Place slices on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, flip each slice over, and then bake 15 more minutes. 

5. While plantains are baking, mix all ingredients for pumpkin dip. 

6. Serve while plantains are still warm and enjoy!

Question: How do you like to eat plantains?