Guacamole and Plantain Chips

I’ve been searching for a guilt-free “guac and chips” dish ever since I started eating guacamole 10 years ago, and I have finally found it by substituting tortilla chips for homemade baked plantain “chips.”  This dish was inspired by my love of all-things-plantain, although it is rather timely with Cinco de Mayo approaching this Thursday.

Also, this was the first time I used my mortar and pestle to make guacamole.  I wanted to keep my guacamole recipe really traditional, and I got a nice little workout pounding away at the raw onion and fresh jalepeno peppers with the pestle. Of course, you don’t have to make the plantains yourself–you can buy them already baked.

Baked Plantain Chips Recipe

1 pound of plantains, thinly sliced (I prefer unripe for this dish for a more savory chip)
2 tablespoons oil
salt and pepper, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.  Arrange the thinly-sliced plantains s in a single layer on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Drizzle with one tablespoon of oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, flip over, and drizzle with remaining one tablespoon of oil. Return to the oven and bake for another 10-15 minutes, until golden and crisp. Remove from the oven and drain on paper towels.