INGREDIENTS:

You will need at least three very ripe plantains, so ripe that the skin is black.

1/2 stick of butter

1 bottle or can of soda of your liking, or 8 ounces of orange juice.

A skillet, pot, or pan

Take the skin off the plantains. Peel them, yes. Arrange them in a skillet, a pot or a pan, or a Pyrex (if you will bake them in the oven) and take a whole coke bottle or can, or any other flavored soda (it could be red soda or it could be grape soda, or even root beer, or even orange juice). Orange juice makes them quite tasty. But soda does, too. You will have to experiment. The truth is that any soda will do. If you have a bit of brown sugar, sprinkle it on top. If you have a bit of cinnamon, you can also sprinkle some on top of that. Take a stick of butter and cut it in half....now cut one of the halves into slices, and place them all over the plantains. Cover the pot or pan, and place it on medium heat on the stove top, or in the oven. If you cook them in the oven, it would be on 325F and you would cover them with aluminum foil. Let the plantains soak up the soda....It will be about 20 minutes. The more ripe, the faster they will absorb the liquid. If the plantains are very ripe, they will have natural sugars that will caramelize with the soda, and it will create a certain syrup that the plantains will be wallowing in. This is the stage you want it to be in, when you eat them with the ARROZ CON POLLO (see my other recipe). This is absolutely wonderful with rice; any type of rice...you can have it with white rice, or Arroz con Guandu (that is another recipe), or Arroz con Pollo. I know you will love it! You will be licking your fingers. MMMMM and I'm supposed to be on a diet tomorrow....temptation, temptation....just as the name implies!

Where to get the plantain? Sometimes Publix will have them...but you should be able to get them at any Hispanic food store or supermarket.