Deborah Ratcliffe, regular columnist for the Press and Journal’s food magazine, The Menu, puts a fresh twist on an old, seasonal favourite
Bananas are amazingly versatile and equally delicious eaten raw, cooked, hot or cold.
My absolute favourite way is simply to mash a ripe banana down with a teaspoon of soft dark brown sugar and use as a filling for a white bread sandwich – seriously divine!
I also love the luscious vanilla and cinnamon banana recipe I’m sharing today – the buttery syrup takes the bananas to a new height of deliciousness – with a subtle salted caramel flavour.
Simple banana and pecan ‘ice cream’
(Serves 2)
Ingredients
- 2 ripe bananas cut into even slices
- 3-4 tbsp double cream, plus extra if needed
- 50g toasted pecans roughly broken up
To garnish:
- Fresh mint
- A few halved pecan nuts
Method
- Start by toasting the pecans.
- Heat up a frying pan and when hot, add the nuts.
- Toss around for a minute or two till they smell “roasted” and just browning.
- Keep an eye on them as they burn easily. Set aside to cool.
- Then, place the banana slices in a single layer on a tray. Cover and freeze for 2 hours or until just frozen.
- Pop the slices in a food processor. Add the double cream and whizz until smooth. Gradually add extra cream if required.
- Remove from the processor and fork through the broken-up pecans.
- Garnish with mint and a few pecan halves and serve immediately.
Bananas with vanilla and cinnamon
(Serves 1)
Ingredients
- 1 sliced, ripe banana
For the syrup:
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- Pinch of salt – extra if wanting a more “salted” flavour
- ¼ to ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- Good pinch of ground cinnamon
- 6 halved walnuts
Method
- Melt the butter then stir in the remaining syrup ingredients.
- Add the vanilla drip by drip (taste as you go).
- Warm gently through. Add the banana and coat thoroughly with the syrup.
- Slowly heat until the banana is al dente.
Read more in this series…
Food columnist: Awesome asparagus makes for a tasty seasonal dish