My husband and I went to Dominican Republic a few weeks ago where they are huge fans of bananas! It became a running joke, all the different banana dishes they had at our resort from bacon wrapped bananas to banana lasagna (where you use thinly sliced banana in place of the noodles)to bananas daiquiries.  I remembered this Cooking Light dish I made years ago and decided to recreate it tonight for my husband (who was in love with all the banana dishes).  The orignal recipe can be found here or at the link below:

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Plantains contain more starch and less sugar compared to a traditional  banana. They are almost always cooked because of their higher starch content.  Plantains are used in many savory dishes similar to how you would use a potato and are popular is Western African and Caribbean cooking.  These kebabs don’t cook on the grill for very long so you want to make sure you choose ripe plantains, otherwise they will still be very starchy and inedible. I’ve never tried to grill a banana but I think I may try this recipe again with bananas.  I think the sweetness of the banana would be a nice contrast to the spiciness of the steak and peppers.

I made a few substitutions  to the original recipe to make is Paleo friendly.

Jamaican Jerk Steak and Plantain Kebabs (adapted from a Cooking Light recipe)

1/2 cup chopped green onions

1 tablespoon ground allspice
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chopped fresh or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
2 teaspoons coconut aminos
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 large jalapeno pepper, seeded
1 1/2 pounds boneless sirloin, trimmed and cut into cubes
1 red bell pepper, cut into  pieces
2 black-ripe plantains, peeled, and each cut into 9 pieces
Diagonally cut green onions (optional)
Lime wedges (optional)

Prepare grill.

Combine first 9 ingredients in a food processor or blender; process until smooth. Place onion mixture, beef, and bell pepper pieces in a large zip-top plastic bag; seal. Marinate in refrigerator 20 minutes.

Remove beef and bell pepper pieces from bag; discard marinade. Place beef, bell pepper pieces, and plantain pieces in a large bowl; toss well to coat.

Thread 5 beef cubes, 3 red pepper pieces, and 3 plantain pieces alternately onto each of 6 (12-inch) skewers. Lightly coat kebabs with cooking spray. Place kebabs on grill  Cook 4 minutes on each side for medium-rare or until desired degree of doneness. Garnish with green onion pieces and serve with lime wedges, if desired.

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Tonight I served these kabobs with roasted cauliflower and steamed green beans.  I roasted the cauliflower using coconut oil to stick with the Caribbean theme and let me tell you it was amazing! I usually use olive oil but I will be using coconut oil from now on! Here is that recipe :

Roasted Cauliflower
1 head of cauliflower cut into large chunks
1 T coconut oil
Coarse salt and pepper, to taste
1. Place cut up cauliflower on baking tray and coat with coconut oil salt and pepper
2. Bake in oven at 425 for 25-30 min.