Spicy Mean Bean Dip with Plantain Chips

Cooked beans are a very popular ingredient in Jamaica and here I have turned them into an unusual dip to be served with some crunchy plantain chips. Plantains belong to the same family as the banana but they must be cooked before they can be eaten. They are sold at various stages of ripeness and for these chips you need to use the green, unripe ones. You can either cook them on the barbecue or deep-fry them.

Serves 6

397 g can red kidney or pinto beans

100 g (4 oz) soft cream cheese or goats’ cheese

4 tablespoons soured cream

1 small red onion, very finely chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

2 tomatoes, skinned, seeded and diced

2 red finger chillies, seeded and very finely chopped or 2 teaspoons minced red chilli from a jar

2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander

1 teaspoon lemon or lime juice

salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the plantain chips

2 large green plantains

sunflower oil

sea salt to taste

For the dip, tip the beans into a sieve and rinse off the starchy liquid. Drain them really well, tip them into a bowl and crush into a rough paste with a potato masher.

Mix in the rest of the ingredients, spoon the dip into a bowl, cover and chill until you are ready to serve.

For the plantain chips, score the skin of the plantains and peel away the skin. Slice the fruit thinly on the diagonal into a bowl and stir in a little sunflower oil and a little salt. Toss them around a bit with your hands so that all the slices get well coated in the oil.

To cook the chips on the barbecue, lay them side by side on a fine-meshed rack (see here) and cook in batches for about 10 minutes on each side, brushing with a little more oil now and then, until they are crisp and have turned a deep golden brown.

As each batch cooks, tip them into a bowl (using oven gloves to hold the mesh rack) and once they are cold, sprinkle them with a little more salt to serve alongside the spicy bean dip.

Alternatively, deep-fry the chips at 180°C (350°F) until crisp and golden. Drain on kitchen paper before sprinkling with the salt or a little sugar if you like a touch of sweetness.