Plantains are an Afro-Caribbean staple.
The basic working man's dinner is white rice, black beans and fried platanos. A cold cerveza to wash it down, and a cafe solo for dessert.
The Cubans prepare them two ways, tostones (platanos verdes) and maduros.
Verde,(Green): Peel, cut them into medallions, quick deep-fat fry them and pound them flat in paper to squeeze out the excess grease. Serve salty, yellow, hard and crunchy, like fried potatoes.
But I prefer...
Maduros, (Ripe): Peel, slice them on the bias, pan fry to a deep, soft, sweet reddish brown. Delicious.
Puerto Ricans pound them into a gooey mess they mix up with ground meat and vegetables, called mofongo. It looks as dreadful as it sounds. The stuff is disgusting, but they swear by it. I never did understand those people.