Mini Plantain & Fish Bites

bytasteofnigeria -October 19, 2013

2

If you would be entertaining guests any time soon, you may find my Mini Plantain & Fish Bites exciting and fun to serve as your starter or canapés....

Funke Koleosho's Mini Plantain & Fish Bites

Often times when I attend functions/parties, I am amazed and quite excited by some of the clever and very artistic ways some finger foods have been made. This stirs up my creativity and fires my inspiration for making new and exciting canapés/small chops with food of Nigerian origin.

If you have been following my posts, you will know by now how much I love plantains and that they feature quite often in my recipes. My thoughts are that with plantains you can rarely go wrong with regards to how they taste. What I often focus on is how to pair them well with other ingredients and of course how to present them.

Mini Plantain & Fish Bites

My Mini Plantain & Fish Bites offer an excellent infusion of taste and flavour... (fish and plantain are truly a match made in food heaven!). This recipe also offers an attractive visual effect to arouse the curiosity in any food lover....Try them!

Note: I have not included quantities of each ingredient to use because I am giving you the free hand to adjust the recipe to suit your exact taste requirements. Just bear in mind that the egg white is only added to bind the fish so avoid using too much. The egg white of one egg should be enough for one medium sized fish used.

What you need

Fresh fish (use any fish of your choice, preferably an oily fish. I used mackerel in this recipe)
Plantains. Select the firm and just ripe ones. I also suggest that you choose the large ones in order to get decent size bites!
Egg white
Thinly sliced mixed sweet peppers for garnish
Fresh thyme
Fresh basil
Salt & black pepper

What to do

Wash the unpeeled plantain and thinly slice (about a quarter of an inch in thickness) across its width. Leave the skin on.
Clean the fish and cut into about 3-4 pieces. Cook the fish in some salted water for about 8 minutes.
When cooked, remove bones and skin, then flake the fish using a fork and transfer into a mixing bowl.
Add the egg white, some salt, black pepper, thyme and finely chopped fresh basil. Mix these up thoroughly.
Mould the fish into miniature fish cakes in sizes that match the circumference of the sliced plantain. Allow to rest for about 15 minutes then pan fry.
Simultaneously, heat some vegetable oil in a shallow frying pan. Fry the sliced plantains, with the skin on. Fry each piece for about 3 minutes on each side.
Remove plantain slices from the pan and place on some kitchen towel to absorb excess oil.
With the skin still on, use the ridged side of a kitchen mallet to press down on the fried plantain to create the waffle effect (seen in the picture). Of course this step is optional.
Then carefully peel off the skin to reveal an attractive yellow stripe on the side of the plantain slices. Set aside.
Serve the cooked mini fish cakes sandwiched between two slices of plantain.