Recipe: Plantain Kebabs

Plantain Kebabs are easy to prepare and great to serve at dinner parties or as “small chops” (my Nigerian readers know what I mean by small chops, no party is complete without them :D). I made mine with “asun” – spicy goat meat – but would be just as tasty with cubes of beef or chicken if you prefer.

I made these plantain kebabs for a dinner party and they went down a treat! Check out the recipe below…

• Prep time: 1 hour
• Cooking time: 20 mins
• Serves: 6 people (12 skewers)
• Calories per serving: 300

What you’ll need

• 500g x Goat meat, washed and chopped into small chunks (without bones) – can also use cubes of beef or chicken if you prefer
• 3 x Plantains
• 1 x Onion
• 2 x Red bell peppers
• 1 x Scotch bonnet
• 12 x Wooden skewers
• Olive oil
• Chilli powder
• Salt
• Garlic
• Stock cube (or your preferred spices)

Instructions

1.  After washing and chopping your goat meat, season to taste with Maggi cubes, garlic and a little chilli pepper if you can handle it 😉
2. Boil until tender (this step may take a while so start the rest of your prep while you wait)
3. Completely immerse the wooden skewers in a bowl of water and set aside, this will stop them from burning in the oven later
4. Peel the plantains and sprinkle some salt over them – it helps to wet them first – then pop under the grill for about 15-20 mins. I use the Tower AirWave Low Fat Air Fryer. The plantains don’t need to be fully cooked as they’ll go back in the oven later
5. While the plantains cook, wash and chop half the onion and the two bell peppers into 1.5 inch squares for the kebabs
6. Also chop a quarter of the remaining onion and the whole scotch bonnet more finely
7. Once the meat is tender, heat up 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan/wok and add the finely chopped onion and scotch bonnet
8. Simmer for a few seconds then add the goat meat and a little bit of the stock, stir fry for a few minutes
9. By now the plantains should be done – they should be sliced and placed in a bowl ready to be skewered
10. Now the fun part – arrange the plantains, peppers, onions and meat on your skewers in any order you like
11. Place on an oven tray then into the oven at 180C for 20 mins and voila – ready to serve!

And there you have it, delicious and colourful starters to impress your guests! This was one of a few dishes I made that evening, but it was definitely my favourite 🙂

I love cooking (and eating) plantain! It’s so versatile: you can roast it, fry it, boil it, mash it – the list goes on. Plus it goes so well with so many other dishes, like beans (check out my recipe for Nigerian beans). In fact, I’ll almost certainly do an “Ode to Plantain” series soon. What is your go to food item or dish when you have to cook for friends and family?

Chat soon,
Lou xx