Sautéed Plantain with Bacon Grease and Onion

So good I could lick the pan.  Really.

This is a fantastic recipe for this time of the year!  Common plantain is beginning to grow in abundance and the leaves are young and least bitter.  It's the best time to pick them.  Plantain is one of my favorite plants. However, I generally like to dehydrate it because the leaves have strings that run through them. Once dehydrated, those strings crumble like the leaves for use in soups.

There is a way to make fresh plantain more user friendly.  Once you rinse the leaves, stack them with the grain of the leaves together. Slice against the grain to make strips of the leaves. Then the strings are no longer an issue.

Cut against the grain to eliminate the stringiness.

I am not sure if it is the bacon grease or the balsamic vinegar, but I like this recipe enough to want to eat the whole pan!  Just be sure when you cook your family bacon for breakfast, save the grease in a coffee cup, cover with wrap and put it in the fridge.  Once it is cold, you can scrape the clear top of the grease into your pan for cooking.

Plantain can last quite a while in your refrigerator!

Sautéed Plantain with Bacon Grease and Onion

Ingredients:

Gallon size bag of plantain leaves
1 onion, diced
Bacon grease from one cooked package of bacon
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Rinse and slice plantain leaves.  Add to a pot of simmering water and cook until just soft.  Be careful not to overcook.  Meanwhile add bacon grease and diced onion to a skillet and fry until lightly browned.  Drain plantain and add to onion mixture.  Stir until mixed.  Add balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper to taste.

One of the best smells in the world is onion fried in bacon grease!