Melting plantain & cashew burger

Ingredients 1 Plantain, cashew nuts, cheddar,  1 jalepeno, oregano, salt, pepper, olive oil

Plantains are fabulous. They're a kind of savoury banana that grow in tropical climates and are used quite a lot in Caribbean and Mexican cooking. When shopping for plantain please remember that the best ones are the ripe, almost completely black ones. Don't cook with unripe ones as the flavour and texture will probably put you off for life! This burger has a gorgeous thin crust, slightly sticky soft plantain and a spicy melting centre. Definitely an ideal introduction to plantain if you've never tried it.


1) Bring a pan of water to the boil and drop the entire plantain into it. Boil for 25-30 minutes. You will know it is ready as the skin will split and virtually peel itself!


2) Blitz a handful of cashew nuts in the blender until you have rough chunks of nut. Add the peeled plantain into the blender and pulse until it combines with the nuts and a slightly sticky ball is formed.


3) Using your thumbs, depress a hollow into the ball and fill with grated cheddar and finely chopped jalepeno. Reform into a ball ensuring that the cheese is locked away in the centre. Season with chopped oregano, salt and pepper.


4) Add a few drops of olive oil into a frying pan and sizzle the burger for a few minutes before flipping over. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes and serve.