Plantain and sweet potato rosti with crab salad and hot pepper avocado

Bahamians love to start the day with a hearty breakfast of fish or seafood. I’m using crab, another Bahamian favourite, to top my spiced plantain rosti in this tasty brunch dish. The zesty salad is inspired by the flavours of a local conch salad and you can adjust the chilli according to taste or add some diced mango for a tropical twist.

• serves

  2-4

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  10 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Series. Cooking. Rated PG.

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Ainsley's Taste of the Bahamas

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Ingredients

Crab salad

• 275 g (lump) white crab meat
• 2 spring onions, finely sliced
• 1-2 ripe vine tomato, deseeded, finely diced
• ½ green or red capsicum (bell pepper), deseeded, finely diced
• ¼-½ scotch bonnet, goat or habanero chilli pepper, deseeded, finely chopped
• Handful of coriander leaves, chopped
• Juice and zest of ½ lime
• ½ small orange, for squeezing
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Hot pepper Avocado

• 1 large ripe avocado, peeled and destoned
• 1 small clove garlic, minced
• 1½ tbsp mayonnaise
• Juice of ½ lime
• Caribbean hot pepper sauce, to taste

Rosti

• 1 large (approx. 280-300 g), sweet potato, peeled
• 1 large ripe (or green) plantain (see Note)
• Juice of ½ lime
• 3 cm fresh ginger, grated
• ½ tsp allspice
• ¼-½ scotch bonnet or habanero chilli pepper, deseeded, finely chopped
• 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves (½ tsp dried)
• 2-3 tbsp plain or gram flour
• 1 egg, beaten (optional - if and as needed)
• Oil and butter, for shallow frying, as needed

Instructions

1. In a bowl mix together the crab, onion, tomatoes, capsicum (bell pepper), chilli, coriander, lime juice and zest. Add a squeeze of orange juice to taste and season with salt and pepper. Cover and chill until needed.
2. Put the avocado, garlic, mayo, lime juice and 1 tbsp cold water in a small food processor and blend until smooth. Add hot sauce and seasoning to taste. Cover and chill until needed.
3. Grate the sweet potato into a large bowl. Top and tail the plantain, peel and grate into the same bowl. Add the lime juice and mix to avoid oxidisation. Add the ginger, allspice, chilli and thyme. Season well with salt and pepper. Sprinkle over the flour and mix together. If needed (especially when using green plantain) stir in some of the egg to bind – you’re not looking for a batter but a slightly sticky mix.
4. Heat a drizzle of oil and a little knob of butter in a frying pan over a medium heat. When hot, fry in batches – place spoonfuls of the mix into the hot pan, flatten down and shape with the back of a metal spatula/spoon into thin rosti. Fry for 2-3 minutes on each side until crispy, golden and cooked through. Drain on kitchen paper.
5. Serve the rosti topped with the crab salad and a spoonful or two of the creamy avocado.

 

Note

I like to use ripe plantain for the rosti - I love the sweetness with the zingy crab and fiery chilli - but you can use green plantain if preferred, just add a little beaten egg to bind if needed.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.