Sweet and Spicy Roasted Plantains

I first was introduced to plantains by a friend from Mexico, they were a crispy fried bite of sweetness and saltiness.  Her family made them pan fried-- not once but fried twice.  I can recall they would slice them and fry them on each side and place each batch on a paper towel lined platter.  On the second time of frying they would smash them a bit with a spatula and then remove them and place on a paper towel again and this time sprinkle them generously with salt.  It was a divine treat and something unlike anything else I had tasted.  Yes, potato-ey but also sweet and the double frying made them crisp and really smooth inside (I guess from the smashing!)
I have also had sweet roasted plantains, all caramel-like from slow roasting and adding maple syrup.  These are a good dessert, delicious but too sweet for eating with a meal.  I would try these with toasted coconut on ice cream or greek yogurt. Oh and if there's extra liquid in the roasting pan--drizzle that over the top and add chopped roasted pecans.
But enough of all that, I'm presenting a simpler, and more health conscious, approach that would make a great starch side dish.  Keep in mind plantains in general are still high in sugar so they will get a nice golden color. 
Also, being as they are starchy and sweet I think pairing them with something like roasted broccoli works well.  I think these would be great with a stuffed poblano--a tofu mixture similar to what I had in the tofu stuffed peppers on this blog would work.  Or use just a grain like rice or quinoa and mix some grated queso fresco into that and fill the roasted poblano peppers and just bake to melt the cheese.
As for other alternatives--baked tofu, roasted chicken breast, tilapia or rainbow trout, or serve the plantain over a vegetable and seitan stir fry.

Eggplant Napolean

The description may look involved, it's actually not.
Sauce comes together quickly, or you can use canned.
While eggplant raosts you can make the filling.
Bakes just to heat through and brown on top

I would also think of this as individual eggplant lasagnas. The filling becomes a tofu "ricotta".
Roasted eggplant round layered with a tofu and grain filling.  The filling is moist like a ricotta but without the saturated fat.  I used quinoa and freekeh but you could use either, both, or add amaranth. 
I used 4" metal round molds to assemble these.  Just give them a quick spray with olive oil spray and start layering.  The eggplant should be roasted long enough so it's tender inside but not mushy.
I like finishing these of under the broiler--I like the dark crispy bits as the tomato sauce caramelizes and the sprinkling of cheese becomes golden.  I served these with glazed carrots and also broccoli that was blanched and then sauteed with garlic and dried hot peppers. 

Cod En Brodo

Perfect weeknight recipe--quick, satisfying yet light and warming in the winter months. 

I recently picked up more cod than I could use.  So I placed some pieces in the freezer.  I wanted to use the cod in such a way to overcome the fact that it had been frozen.  Cod can be dry as it is, so I figured introducing more liquid would be ideal.  I decided to poach it in liquid (in this case a small amount of white wine and then homemade vegetable broth).
This is very simple and you can use any fish you like.  I've used salmon, halibut, grouper.  You can even use something like tilapia, but it may break up in the broth--taste will be the same but presentation will vary.

By the way, this same broth makes a great soup on it's own, just serve with a salad and crusty bread to soak up all those flavors!   Wouldn't radicchio be great with this?