Ladob

Ladob (Seychellois Plantain in Coconut Milk)

A comforting Seychellois dessert of ripe plantain simmered in coconut milk with sugar and warm spices until the sauce turns thick and creamy. Serve it warm or chilled, as you prefer.

Prep

10 min

Cook

30 min

Total

40 min

Serves

4

Difficulty

Easy

Recipe ingredients

• •4 whole ripe plantains, skins heavily blackened; yellow with a few black spots works too
• •400 ml (1⅔ cups) full-fat coconut milk, one 400 ml can
• •100 g (½ cup) granulated sugar, adjust to taste and ripeness of plantain
• •150 ml (⅔ cup) water, or thin coconut milk
• •1 whole cinnamon stick, or ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• •1 whole vanilla pod, split and scraped; or 1 tsp vanilla extract
• •0.25 tsp (¼ tsp) ground nutmeg, freshly grated is best
• •1 pinch salt

Steps

1. 1 Peel the plantains and slice them into 2 cm (¾ inch) thick rounds.
2. 2 In a medium saucepan, combine the water, coconut milk, sugar, cinnamon stick, vanilla pod (with seeds scraped in), nutmeg and salt. Stir over medium heat until the sugar dissolves.
3. 3 Add the plantain slices, bring to a gentle simmer, then reduce the heat to low.
4. 4 Cover and simmer for 15–20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the plantain is completely tender when pierced with a knife and the sauce has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon.
5. 5 Remove the cinnamon stick and vanilla pod. Taste and add more sugar if needed.
6. 6 Serve warm, or let cool and refrigerate before serving chilled. Ladob keeps, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.