Oven Baked Plantains

My mom was interested in having some sweet fried plantains for dinner sometime. We got some greenish plantains from the grocery store, and waited a few days for them to turn more yellow and have a few black spots. (We wanted to use medium ripe plantains so they would be sweet.)

Ingredients:

• 2 plantains (medium-ripe, yellow with some black spots)
• 1 tablespoon  coconut oil (we melted it, you could also use a light olive oil)
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat liner or parchment paper.
2. Place the oil in a medium bowl.
   (Melt the coconut oil if needed.)
3. Cut the ends off each plantain and score the peels from end to end along an ridge, making sure not to cut through the plantains. Pull the peels off and discard.
   (This should be pretty easy if they are sufficiently ripe.)
4. Slice the plantains about 1/4 to 1/3 an inch thick, and place them in the bowl.
5. Stir the plantains to coat both sides of each piece in oil.
6. Spread the plantains on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with the salt and cinnamon.
7. Bake the plantains for about 15 minutes, flip them, and then bake for another 10 to 15 minutes.
   (We baked them on top of a pre-heated baking steel sheet, which helped brown and caramelize that side of the plantains.)
8. Serve warm.
   

Carole's Notes:

Mom and Doug really liked these! (I'm not a big plantain fan when they are really ripe when cooked, but these may have been the best I've ever eaten.) You probably want a plantain for each person who likes them - I will make 3 for 3 people next time.

The recipe is lightly adapted from https://www.africanbites.com/baked-plantains-2/
and folds in some other tips I read online (such as using coconut oil and cinnamon.)