Maple Rum Sauce over Grilled Plantains and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

The Bennett Crew loves plantains.  Especially when they are green and we slice them up and fry them to make Patacones.  But because we were looking for something sweet to eat, I thought the plantains would make a decadent dessert.

When plantains turn dark and soft, they are sweeter, much like a banana.  My sister in law, Paula, who is from Colombia, fries or grills the sweet plantains and then drizzles honey and cinnamon over the top as a dessert.   Sometimes she’ll prepare them with a little brown sugar and cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger and serve them over ice cream.  They’re so delicious I could absolutely eat my weight in these fried little sweets.

Because my crew loves maple syrup I created a quick little maple rum sauce to top this yummy dessert.   After grilling the ripe plantains, I sliced them and placed over vanilla bean ice cream and then drizzled with the warm maple rum sauce.  Absolutely delicious!

Serve them in pretty stemware and top with a mint leaf.  A beautiful and deliciously divine dessert!

Maple Rum Sauce over Grilled Plantains and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

This sauce is just as delicious over sliced bananas and ice cream, or warmed bananas and ice cream.  Yum!

Serves 4

Ingredients

½ cup Maple Syrup

2 tablespoons Dark Rum

2 cups Vanilla bean ice cream

2 large very ripe plantains

Directions

Pre-heat the grill to 350F.  In a small pan, heat the maple syrup and dark rum on low.  Do not boil, but make sure the sauce is nicely warm.

Peel the plantains and slice down the center vertically.  Brush the plantains with oil so they won’t stick to the grill.

When the grill is heated, place the plantains flat side down and grill for a few minutes.  Turn the plantains and grill on the other side for a few more minutes.  The plantains should be soft.

Remove from the grill to a cutting board and slice into bite sized pieces.

Place ½ cup ice cream in the bottom of four martini glasses, stemware or bowls and then place a few sliced grilled plantains on top of the ice cream.  Drizzle a little of the warm maple rum sauce over the top and garnish with a mint leaf.

Options:  If you want to prepare this without grilling the plantains, you can pan sear the plantains in a sauté pan with a little oil until the plantains are golden brown and soft.

If you can’t find a ripe dark plantain, purchase a green plantain and then let it sit out in the open for a week and it should turn dark and soft.

If you prefer, you can also use this recipe with bananas.