Plantain Wrapped Goat Cheese, Balsamic Reduction

I can be annoying to go out to dinner with.

Take a recent dinner at Esperanto, a Latin American restaurant in my neighborhood. 

Listed under the appetizer section of the menu was a dish described as plantain crusted goat cheese.   I became inspired by the combination and began to hold a 15 minute brainstorm with my friend as to ways this could be prepared.  I thought about creating very thin layers of a ripe plantain and wrapping a disk of goat cheese completely, almost like a little packet.  The roasted plantain would be sweet and soft, the goat cheese tart and creamy.  I thought maybe a tart, acidic sauce or reduction would contrast nicely. The finishing touch could be a garnish of fried, crisp plantains. I think my friend's eyes were glazed over in boredom, but it sparked an idea for a dish that I ended up playing with the following evening.

I roasted whole, ripe plantains in their skins until soft and tender.  I let them cool, then carefully cut them into long, thin lengthwise strips.  I then experimented with presentation - what was the correct plantain to goat cheese ratio? The above photo is a sandwich style presentation, which was good but not the best.  The best preparation was when I wrapped the plantain strips around the entire goat cheese disk, folded across each other to create a plantain packet with the goat cheese inside.  The balsamic reduction is simply made by reducing a high quality 12 year old balsamic by boiling into a syrup-like consistency.

Overall, the flavor combination of the sweet plantain, the creamy tangy goat cheese and the balsamic reduction was excellent.  The learning I came away with is that you can't get too much plantain - the idea of creating a package encasing the goat cheese is the way to go.  Further, I didn't get around to adding the layer of fried unripe plantains, but a crunchy, salty element like plantain chips would make this dish even better.  Maybe long fried strips propped on top of the package for a bit of height? An herb could also add a final burst of flavor and color, or maybe even some salad greens.  This dish is definitely filed into my work in progress bin, but I'll keep experimenting and let you know where I land. 

(P.S. - the plantain crusted goat cheese at Esperanto reminded me of a traditional fried or baked bread crumb coated goat cheese that you'd find on a French bistro salad.  It was nice, but I couldn't tell that the crust was made of plantain as opposed to a nut, for instance.)

ADDITION: Click here to read Part II.

Comments

[Stephanie]

Hi Joe,
Cheers from a fellow New York food blogger! I like this! It's just the kind of thing I do all the time. (And, I'm also the same when I dine out...my husband lovingly tolerates it... very rare.) How about pureeing the plantain after you roast it? I'm thinking smoky, pureed and roasted plantain, then maybe a light coating of salty panko and frying up the goat cheese packets? Or skipping the panko and sprinkling the packet with sea salt, then frying it up. Kind of like a post I did a while ago, my "Avocado crusted tuna", http://scrumptious.typepad.com/srbeack/2006/08/avocado_crusted.html

[tw]

dude. maybe that's why you're single again. heh.

[Tana]

Hmmm, maybe some kind of roasted nuts, as well? To be the center point between the tangy goat cheese and the sweet, soft plantains. Cashews? Macadamias? It bears thinking about.

[joe]

tana, agree a nut could be a nice element.

steph, interesting ideas. you sparked a thought that i will try out when i try and perfect this dish.

tw - your're an assclown.