Jerk Wraps with Fresh Peaches, Fried Plantains, and Ginger Mayo

Every summer it seems we find a new addiction when it comes to fresh peaches. Oddly enough, it's not usually a dessert recipe.  It's usually a sammich.

Two years ago, we fell in love with Thai style fish tacos with red curry coleslaw and peach salsa. 

Last year we discovered the BLP -- which made us so very happy we had a hard time saying goodbye to peach season.

And this summer, I'm afraid it's the Jerk Wrap.

I've been waiting all summer for the blushiest, ripest peaches so that I could pair them with something spicy. Usually, they'd end up in some sort of salsa.  But, not this year.  This year I decided to veer along Caribbean lines. The first thing I did was to fry up a couple of plantains.

I tend to like my plantains on the sweet side. But, for this recipe I opted for fruits in the mid-range of ripeness -- mostly yellow with a few black flecks.  I figured that the semi-ripe fruit would hold up a bit better during the frying process, and the starchier flavor would compete less with the sweetness of the peaches.

In keeping with the Caribbean theme, I decided to fry the plantains in coconut oil.  I use coconut oil frequently for making Thai curries, for frying fish and seafood, and for baking.  I also love the flavor it adds to roasted cauliflower, turnips, and potatoes.

In this particular case, I was trying out a new product. Tropical Traditions had just sent me a sample of their Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil -- a coconut oil made using the traditional methods (grating the coconut, extracting the milk and allowing the milk stand until the oil separates naturally from the water).

One of the first things I noticed about the TT oil was its clarity -- perfectly clear at above 76º. The oil also smelled rich and nutty.  Since the oil was warm enough to be in its liquid state when I pulled it out of the cupboard, I used a ladle to put about 1/4 cup into my cast iron skillet.

I heated the oil over medium-high heat before adding the plantains, which I had sliced in half and then lengthwise (making them a reasonable shape to put into a wrap.   The plantains fried up beautifully golden brown.  The outside of the fruit was golden and crisp, while the inside was warm and creamy.  And the plantains carried with them just a hint of the nutty coconut flavor.

Once the plantains were fried, I sliced up the peaches while Peef shredded up the jerk chicken.  I also mixed two tablespoons of ginger with about 1/3 cup or so of mayonnaise. I spread the mayo onto a sprouted grain wrap, added a couple of slices of peaches, a length of plantain, about 1/4 cup of shredded chicken, and a few fresh arugula leaves.

One bite and we were both hooked. The peppery arugula provided crunch. And the complex flavors of the jerk chicken -- allspice, habanero, thyme, and garlic -- paired perfectly with the sweetness of the peaches and the liveliness of the ginger mayo.  Meanwhile, the warm crisp plantains provided body and "tooth" to the wrap.  

This recipe would be equally as good made with tofu or pork.  In fact, we're already working on a winter variation of the recipe -- jerk pork with sliced pineapple, watercress, and ginger aioli.

Burp! Jerk Marinade
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Don't be a Jerk, Tofu.

When Peef's brother and his family moved to Antigua, we didn't really think it would give us any particular culinary advantages. In fact, we were more worried about things like "When will we see you again?" and "What's the weather like?" and "When can we visit?" than "What sorts of foodstuffs will you bring back for us when you come home on furlough?"

Silly, silly Peef and Lo.

This past July, John and Alex came home. And they brought us a scad of fantastic local delicacies. Antiguan rum, guava jelly, johnny cake mix, Caribbean hot sauce, mango-pineapple wine, tamarind wine ... and a jar of jerk sauce.

Now, we love a good jerk. And we have (what we consider) a pretty durned good recipe for it. So, we were eager to see how the jarred sauce measured up.

But, that doesn't mean that we broke into our stash immediately. In fact, when it comes to new and exciting things I'm a bit of a hoarder. I was the kid who rationed her new school clothes so that they lasted AT LEAST until the middle of November. And I'm still the gal who loves to stash exciting new chocolate bars into the cupboard to eat... on that special occasion.

So, we didn't get around to trying out the jerk until... just a couple of weeks ago.
I decided we'd go for a nice healthy meal -- a bit of jerked tofu with some roasted cauliflower and onions -- for starters.

Upon opening the jark of jerk, Peef took a whiff. "Wha-hoo!" he snorted, as his eyes began to water "I think it's gonna be hot."

Of course, that warning only served as an invitation for me to force my whole nose down into the container to get a nice sniff. I got a little on the tip of my nose, which I promptly wiped off. But, the burn... oh, the burn. This was going to be some good stuff.

We mixed together that excrutiating sauce with a bit of olive oil...
...and slathered the 12 ounces of cubed tofu. We left no cube un-jerked. In fact, the screams (and slew of profanities) emanating from the processed soy product were almost intolerable. It actually made us feel badly for a moment or two. But, ultimately, we smiled sadistically and threw the tofu (not violently, of course) into the fridge for a nice 24 hour marinade.
The next day, the tortured tofu, which was now feeling slightly suicidal, eagerly submitted to the firey depths of our roasty oven (425º convection roast) for about 25 minutes or so, alongside the (infinitely LESS eager) cauliflower and onions. And the crispified delights that greeted our eyes were absolutely stunning.
... and friggin' hot to boot.
We took our first bites. Yes, indeed. This jerk was the real thing. A bit saltier than our recipe... and quite a bit hotter. We bathed our mouths in a swig of nice cold beer... and then went in for second bites. And thirds.

Oh, yeah.

We have about a quarter cup of the sauce left to try on another 12 ounces of unsuspecting tofu. And after that, it's back to the test kitchen with our personal recipe. I'm thinking we'll up the scotch bonnets from 2 peppers to 3, for starters. Cuz mo' hotter is mo' better as far as we're concerned.

Burp! Jerk


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