New
New
Year 6

Making bean and plantain stew

I can use food skills to make a bean and plantain stew.

New
New
Year 6

Making bean and plantain stew

I can use food skills to make a bean and plantain stew.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. A bean and plantain stew has many variations and can be found in the Caribbean, as well as many African countries.
  2. A plantain is in the banana family, but have thicker skins and are more starchy.
  3. The food skills used to make bean and plantain stew are peeling, chopping, draining, stirring and using a hob.
  4. Recipes can be analysed to calculate how much energy and nutrients they provide.

Keywords

  • Plantain - a fruit from the banana family, but starchy with thicker skins

  • Caribbean - the region consisting of the Caribbean sea and its islands

  • Boiling - cooking at the boiling point, bubbling rapidly

  • Simmering - cooking just below the boiling point, bubbling gently

Common misconception

When using the hob, boiling and simmering cooking methods are the same.

Boiling is at the boiling point, bubbling rapidly. Simmering is below the boiling point, bubbling gently.


To help you plan your year 6 cooking and nutrition lesson on: Making bean and plantain stew, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Use a map to show pupils where the Caribbean is in the world. Group work is essential, due to using a hob. Portable hobs, or party pans, must be used under supervision.
Teacher tip

Equipment

For ingredients and equipment see the recipe in additional materials.

Content guidance

  • Risk assessment required - may contain allergens
  • Risk assessment required - equipment

Supervision

Adult supervision required

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Prior knowledge starter quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What should you do if you sneeze, or touch the bin or your nose, while preparing food?

continue to work
Correct answer: wash your hands
wipe your hands
stop working

Q2.
What food skill is being shown here?

An image in a quiz
sieving
dividing
Correct answer: draining
mashing

Q3.
Match the food skill to make full sentences:

Correct Answer:I kneaded,the dough for 10 minutes to make it smooth and elastic.

the dough for 10 minutes to make it smooth and elastic.

Correct Answer:I grated,the carrot.

the carrot.

Correct Answer:I sliced,the onion, using the claw grip.

the onion, using the claw grip.

Correct Answer:I stir-fried,the rice and vegetables on the hob.

the rice and vegetables on the hob.

Correct Answer:I rolled-out,the pastry using a rolling pin.

the pastry using a rolling pin.

Q4.
Match the part of the cooker or equipment to how the food is cooked:

Correct Answer:hob,to boil rice

to boil rice

Correct Answer:grill,to cook sausages

to cook sausages

Correct Answer:toaster,to make toast

to make toast

Correct Answer:oven,to bake bread

to bake bread

Correct Answer:microwave oven,to warm milk

to warm milk

Q5.
True or false? If the hob is needed for a recipe, it should be preheated.

True
Correct answer: False

Q6.
When slicing and dicing food, we use a knife and a .

Correct Answer: chopping board, choppingboard, cutting board

Assessment exit quiz

Download quiz pdf

6 Questions

Q1.
True or false? When using the hob, boiling and simmering cooking methods are the same.

An image in a quiz
True
Correct answer: False

Q2.
A __________ is in the banana family, but has thicker skin and is more starchy.

onion
Correct answer: plantain
bean
tomato

Q3.
Which food group can plantains be found on the Eatwell Guide?

An image in a quiz
fruit and vegetables
Correct answer: potatoes, bread, rice, pasta and other starchy carbohydrates
beans, pulses, fish, eggs, meat and other proteins
dairy and alternatives
oil and spreads

Q4.
Which sandwich is the least healthiest?

An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz
Correct Answer: An image in a quiz
An image in a quiz

Q5.
Recipes can be analysed to calculate how much energy and nutrients they provide. The process is called ...

nutritional labelling
Correct answer: nutritional analysis
nutritional requirements
nutritional values

Q6.
Sort this bean and plantain stew recipe into the correct order:

1 - First, prepare the vegetables.
2 - Drain the beans.
3 - Fry the vegetables and dried chilli.
4 - Add the plantain, beans and chopped tomatoes.
5 - Add the stock, thyme, All purpose seasoning and black pepper.
6 - Simmer for 10 minutes.
Q3 © Crown copyright 2016, Public Health England in association with the Welsh Government, Food Standards Scotland and the Food Standards Agency in Northern Ireland

Additional material

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