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by Zoe Adjonyah

Traditionally a red-red stew is made with palm oil and tomatoes. We’ve updated this version of the common Ghanaian dish to use vegetable oil.

Main course

Buyer's guide

Some supermarkets sell plantains; they’re also sold in ethnic markets.

Preparation

Plantains are cooked green, semi-ripe or fully-ripe. Treat them like a starchy vegetable and use in savoury or sweet dishes. Before cooking, peel by top and tailing the fruit, then cut along the angles of the skin and pull the skin away in strips.

Plantains can be simmered in soup or turned into mash, but their subtle taste is maximised by roasting or frying. They act as a foil to rich flavours such as spicy meat or bean stews. Salted fried plantain chips are a popular snack in the Caribbean.