Green plantains cooked down in chicken broth with onion, garlic, carrot and cumin, then blended smooth. The starch in the plantain is what thickens it, so there is no flour and no cream in it.
The plantain is the thickener
There is no flour in this soup, no roux and no cream, which is unusual for something with this texture.
What thickens it is the plantain. Green plantain is dense with starch, and thirty minutes of simmering breaks it down into the broth so that blending turns the whole pot smooth and thick. It is the same starch that makes patacones hold together and green plantain chips snap.
That is why the plantains have to be hard and completely green. One that has started to yellow has converted some of its starch into sugar, and it gives a soup that is thinner and noticeably sweeter.
Blending hot soup
The fourth step moves eight cups of near-boiling liquid into a blender, and it is the only genuinely dangerous thing on this page.
Hot liquid in a sealed jug keeps producing steam, and steam has to go somewhere. A full jug blended at high speed blows its lid off and throws boiling soup across the kitchen.
So: half a jug at a time, lid held down with a folded cloth over your hand, lowest speed first and then up. Or use a stick blender straight in the pot, which sidesteps the problem entirely and saves washing the jug.
Peeling green plantain
Nobody warns you about this the first time. A green plantain does not peel like a banana: the skin is tight, thick and stuck fast.
Cut both ends off, then run a knife down the length of the ridges, cutting through the skin but not far into the flesh. Get a thumb or the back of the knife under an edge and lever the strips off.
The sap stains hands and boards brown and it is stubborn. Rubbing a little oil on your hands first stops it sticking.
Where it sits on the table
This is a starter or a light lunch rather than a main course, and in Colombia it turns up with a piece of arepa on the side and cilantro on top.
It is also one of the few Colombian soups that works cold, though nobody there would serve it that way. The cumin is what keeps it from tasting flat, so do not leave it out.
More plantain
- Patacones — the same green plantain, fried.
- Tostones soup — with the patacones in it.
- Ripe plantain, boiled — the other end of the fruit.
- Colombian beans — also thickened with green banana.
Green Plantain Soup FAQ
In the sense that matters, yes: it is a smooth, thickened soup with the texture of one. But a classical velouté is thickened with a flour roux and this is thickened by the starch in the green plantain itself, so there is no flour and no cream in it.
Because the starch is what does the work. A plantain that has begun to yellow has already turned some of that starch into sugar, and the soup comes out thinner and sweeter than it should.
With care. Hot liquid in a sealed jug turns to steam and pushes the lid off. Fill the jug halfway, hold the lid down under a folded cloth and start on the lowest speed. A stick blender in the pot avoids the problem completely.
Cut the ends off, score the skin lengthwise down the ridges and lever it off with your thumb or the back of the knife. It does not come away like a banana. Oiling your hands first stops the sap staining them.
Yes, and the recipe already offers it: use vegetable broth or plain water. The plantain and the cumin carry it.
Green plantain oxidises quickly once peeled. Cut it straight into the pot rather than letting the pieces sit on the board.
Yes, and it freezes better than most soups because there is no dairy in it to split. Loosen it with broth when reheating.
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 green plantains (hard and completely green)
- 8 cups chicken broth (vegetable broth, or water)
- 1 onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 carrot
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 2 green onions
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Cilantro (to finish)
Notas
Instructions
- In a blender, put the onion, the garlic and a cup of the broth or water, and blend.
- Pour it into a medium pot and bring to the boil. Lower to medium heat and add the peeled and chopped plantains, the chopped green onions, the carrot cut small, the cumin and the rest of the broth. Season with salt and pepper.
- Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 30 minutes, until the plantain is soft enough to crush against the side of the pot.
- Blend the soup until smooth. Do it in batches, filling the jug no more than halfway and holding the lid down under a folded cloth, because hot liquid turns to steam in a sealed jug and pushes the lid off.
- Return it to the pot, stir and cook for another 10 minutes.
- If it is thicker than you want, loosen it with more broth or water.
- Serve with cilantro on top.
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