Plantain Bowls Stuffed w/Chicken & Guac {Paleo, GF, Whole30}

If mofongo and a sope had a baby, this would be it.  Green plantains- cooked, smashed, seasoned- shaped into a small bowl- stuffed with shredded chicken and guacamole.  A grain-free marriage of two delicious Latin dishes.  (Not sure what in the world I’m talking about?  Check out mofongo here– it’s Puerto Rico’s national dish, and sopes here– Mexico’s take on a mini corn masa bowl.  See one of my sopes recipes here!)

Lately, I’ve been trying to keep to create recipes that are fairly straight-forward and uncomplicated.  Every so often though, I get a creative itch I simply can’t hold back… complicated or not, I just must try it.  This was one of those.  Don’t be afraid- it’s not hard- but it does take a bit of patience.  That’s what’s so fun about cooking though… we can branch out and try new things to keep it fun and fresh.  This creation came to my mind completely out of the blue.  There was a hankering for guacamole and a plantain staring me in the face.  Then it just happened.

This recipe calls for a super simple Crock Pot chicken… maybe you’ve seen it or heard of it out in the Pinterest world.  It’s just salsa and chicken… really, thats it (I sometimes add onion too just for texture).  Of course you can play with it however you may want, but believe it or not, salsa and chicken in the slow cooker is magical all on its own.  It becomes this super tender Mexican-style chicken that’s great for tacos, salads, burritos, and all else you could imagine.  I’ve tried it now with probably about ten different salsa brands- every time it was good.  Lately though, I’ve been pretty attached to Frontera- they make a double-roasted salsa that’s to die for.  And their regular roasted tomato and tomatillo salsas are super good too!  Plus, they use all natural ingredients- it’s clean as clean can get when it comes to store-bought.  The onion isn’t necessary, but it adds texture and a little more flavor… your call.

If you’re not feeling up to dragging the old Crock Pot out of the cupboard, feel free to use any chicken you have lying around.  If you have a whole roast chicken or breasts already cooked up, you can just shred them and toss them with some chicken broth to moisten and a few scoops of salsa to flavor.  Good enough.  😉

For the guac, feel free to use any store-bought or homemade version you like, but this is my go-to recipe I use at home.  I use it as a baseline for every batch I make, and then adjust the amount of lime or chile or salt to my liking.  Each batch is different depending on the ripeness and size of avos, heat of the onion, etc.  Play around until you get it how you want, but for me, this recipe always gets me just what I want.

I realize to some, the whole bacon grease thing might kinda gross you out… to others, it’s probably what sells you haha.  I used to be weirded out by using bacon fat for cooking… back in the days when I also thought non-fat milk was the way to go.  Nowadays though, I see it as a much healthier choice.  It’s totally natural- and full of flavor I might add!  This recipe only calls for 1 tbsp, which is made from cooking the bacon- so it’s already in the pan for you ready to go, but if it’s not your cup of tea, use ghee or avocado oil or any other healthy cooking fat with a smoke point that you like.

Enough babble, let’s get to the crafting… 🙂

makes approx 4 servings

 

for the plantain bowls…

 

2 green plantains

 

3/4 tsp finely minced or crushed garlic

 

1/2 cup chicken broth, plus more as needed

 

1 thick piece bacon, cooked and crumbled

 

1/4 tsp salt, plus more as needed

 

1 tbsp reserved bacon grease, or other healthy cooking oil

 

for chicken…

2 chicken breasts, boneless/skinless (approx. 1.5 lb)

1 16 oz jar of your fave salsa (I like Frontera’s roasted or double-roasted tomato)

1 yellow onion, sliced

 

for guacamole… 

 

3 large avocados

 

1/4 onion, finely diced (I like red)

 

1 garlic clove, finely minced

 

2 small tomatoes (or 1 large), chopped

 

1 lime, juiced

 

1/2 jalapeno, seeds removed, finely minced

 

1/4 tsp ground cumin

 

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

 

1/4 tsp salt, plus more as needed

 

1/8 tsp pepper, plus more as needed

 

handful cilantro leaves, chopped

 

*You’ll need four little ramekins for this

**Don’t have time for slow-cooking today but still want to make this?  No prob- just use pre-cooked chicken (from whole roasted chicken, leftovers, etc) tossed in a smidgen of broth and salsa and a good quality store-bought guac.  Sometimes we just gotta do what we gotta do 😉

DIRECTIONS

Start with the chicken, as that will take three hours (or more depending on how you set it)

Add the chicken breasts, sliced onion, and salsa to the Crock Pot

Cook on high for approx 3 1/2 hours, or low for 5-7

 

Once done, it’ll look a little something like this…

The second you poke it with a fork or spoon, the chicken will shred into tender goodness…

Season it further it you wish, otherwise, get ready to gobble

While the chicken is cooking, prepare the remaining ingredients

For guacamole…

Mince garlic and chile pepper super finely, dice onion,

chop tomatoes, slice avos, and get your lime and cilantro ready

(My chile was red this time, I’d let it overripen a wee… yours will likely be green) 😉

 

Mash everything up in a bowl

Add salt, pepper, cumin, and cayenne

Mix and mash

Taste and adjust seasonings as desired

Refrigerate for now

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

Cook one thick slice of bacon over medium-high heat (I use a large cast iron)

Get it nice and crispy, then lay it on a paper towel and set aside for now

Discard all but 1 tbsp bacon grease- remove pan from heat

To prep plantains, you want to start but cutting the ends off first

Plantains don’t peel like bananas, so you have to work a little to get them off…

Slice the planting in half to have more stable pieces to work with

Carefully cut the peel off, making sure to get all the stringy stuff too

Chop the plantains in approx 1/2 inch slices

For garlic, I’d recommend using a garlic press (unless you have mad mincing skills)

Now you have your plantain mash ingredients ready to go…

Heat the pan over medium heat

Lay the plantain slices in the bacon grease

(If needed, add more oil/grease- the entire pan should be coated)

Cook each side for 3-4 minutes, until golden brown

Plantains are very dry on their own… they really need that fat to moisten up

Add the plantains, crumbled bacon, garlic, chicken broth, and salt to a mixing bowl

Mash mash mash!

(If super dry, add more broth… not too much though- it should be moldable like dough)

Divide the mash into equal portions

(You’ll have at least four- I had three here because I had tested one previously)

Grease your ramekins well- this is very important!

The mash will stick otherwise… no bueno :/

Using your fingers, shape the mash into the ramekins

so that they’re evenly spread across the bottoms and sides

(I used various shaped of ramekins- use whatever you have)

Bake for approx 15 minutes, until lightly golden brown

  

Remove from oven and let cool to set

You can choose to either eat right out of the ramekin or scoop

the little guys out and then stuff… I scoop them out first

Fill with shredded chicken (get lots of sauce in there) and guacamole

Top with some cilantro and devour!