Plantain chips are far more than just a snack
We would like to personally thank Gwen Stefani for teaching the world how to spell “bananas.” Though that likely was not her intention, she brought a lot of attention to the yellow fruit usually associated with humor. Turns out, there’s far more to the world of bananas than Gwen, bread and a slippery prank. Our pals over at Barnana showed us bananas and plantains can be snackable and bite-sized and come in many different flavors than arguably the most preferred Laffy Taffy flavor on the Whalebone team. What started as a homemade-childhood snack of dehydrated bananas, quickly evolved into an organic snacks company to upcycle bananas that were grown but were harvested too ripe to make it through the shipping journey. So through working with local Indigenous family farmers with regenerative practices, Barnana is not only providing a delicious, clean, salty, and pretty potassium-rich snack but also putting the planet at the forefront of this whole shebang.
Turns out, there’s a lot more you can do with plantain chips and dehydrated bananas than you might think. So we decided to put together a nice little three-course meal using Barnana Organic Plantain Chips, Crisps and Nuggets to incorporate this healthy snack into more than just, well, a snack. This shit really is bananas.
The Appetizer: Tropical Pico de Gallo
Time: 5-10 minutes (Depends on your chopping skills) • Serves: 3 to 4 (Depends on how big of a scooper you are)
The one that starts the show. Perfect for a mix of flavors to open up the taste buds, naturally, we chose a Tropical Pico de Gallo served with Barnana Acapulco Lime Plantain Chips for dipping. Light, sweet, citrusy, savory.
Ingredients:
- 1 to 2 mangoes, peeled and diced
- 1 cup Roma or cherry tomatoes, also diced
- ½ cup red onion, diced (but you can use whichever onion type you fancy)
- 1 to 2 jalapeños, diced (remove the seeds based on your spicy preference)
- ⅓ cup chopped cilantro (feel free to add more or less, especially if it tastes like soap to you)
- 1 to 2 limes, juiced
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon salt (can add more or less depending on preference)
- 1 to 2 avocadoes, diced (optional, but encouraged)
- Hot sauce of choice (optional and also encouraged, recommend a chipotle flavor)
Instructions:
Slice and dice everything on that list that’s sliceable and dice-able and mix everything into a bowl. Gently now. (Save mango and avocado for last) Add more lime and salt to taste.
Drizzle as much or as little of that sauce on top as you desire. Nothing like a nice little kick.
Serve + scoop with Acapulco Lime Barnana Plantain Chips. Scoop like you mean it.
The Dinner: Garlic Crusted Chicken
Takes: 45 to 55 minutes (Depending on if you’re an oven or an air fryer person) • Serves: 2 to 3 (Depending on size and quantity of chicken breasts)
The main event. Something hearty, but refreshing. Garlic breaded chicken is the perfect meal for any time of year. Plus the perfect crunch from the Barnana Garlic Plantain Crisps. Adios cornflakes, hello crisps.
Ingredients:
- 1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts (recommend leaving them full and not cutting in half. No one likes a dry bird)
- 4 tbsps melted butter or margarine of your choice
- 2 tablespoons milk (or unsweetened, unflavored dairy free alternative)
- 1 bag of Barnana Garlic Plantain Crisps
- 3 tbsps fresh chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley (can add this to milk mixture as well)
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp green onion, chopped
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees, or don’t if you’re using an air fryer. Spray either inside of air fryer or lined baking sheet with non-stick-whatever-you-use.
Mix milk, melted butter, chives, parsley (optional) and salt together in a medium bowl. Put whole bag of Barnana Garlic Plantain Crisps, parsley and paprika in a food processor or blender and blend until finely crushed and pour into a medium bowl. Dip chicken into milk mixture, then dip into crisp mixture and coat evenly on all sides.
Put coated chicken on a baking sheet or in the air fryer.
For oven: Bake uncovered for 20-25 mins (until chicken is no longer pink).
For air fryer: air fry for 10 minutes on each side at 400F (depending on the thickness of the chicken, could add extra 5 mins). Let it cool. Patience, Iago. Serve with sides of your choice. We chose a nicely sliced fresh avocado and some cherry tomatoes.
Enjoy. Pairs rather nicely with a glass of red.
Dessert: A Good Old-Fashioned Banana Split
Takes: 5 to 10 minutes • Serves: 1 to 2, but only 1 if you mean business
The grand finale. This one has to really seal the deal. And honestly, how long has it actually been since you’ve had a traditional banana split? It’ll really take ya back, while sending you forward in time with a new crunchy topping—none other than Barnana Sea Salt Plantain Nuggets. Nut allergy, no problem.
Ingredients:
- 1-gallon Neapolitan ice cream (or three different ice cream containers of chocolate, strawberry and vanilla)
- 1 banana
- 1 -2 baggies of Barnana Pink Sea Salt Plantain Nuggets
- Whipped cream
- 2 tbsps strawberry syrup or compote
- 2 tbsps chocolate syrup
- 2 tbsps crushed pineapple (canned)
- Maraschino cherries (optional)
- Sprinkles (optional)
Instructions:
Peel your banana and slice it in half longways and put one half on each side of your dish.
Put one (or a couple, no one’s judging) scoop of vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ice cream in between the banana slices.
For the traditional, put a scoop of pineapple on the vanilla, strawberry syrup over the strawberry and chocolate syrup over the chocolate (don’t be shy).
Top each scoop with whipped cream to your heart’s desire. Gently sprinkle Barnana Sea Salt Plantain Nuggets on top of the whipped cream for a nice crunch. Pop the maraschino cherries on top and grab a spoon. And sprinkles are always fun, we like the rainbow jimmies.
We also suggest eating this while talking in a Transatlantic accent because it just feels right.
Forgot how good they were, didn’t you?