Recipe: Transform good old reliable bananas into an elegant dessert with caramel sauce and rum
Serves 4
Good old bananas are not only reliably available, and ripen a day or two after you bring them home, but they can also be transformed easily into an elegant dessert. Cook them briefly in a caramel-y brown sugar and rum sauce in a recipe similar to the classic 1950s New Orleans specialty Bananas Foster, which is typically flambeed tableside. Lighting the alcohol is mostly for show as very little of it burns off. Use bananas that are a tad underripe so they’re not too sweet and don’t turn to mush in the caramel sauce. Serve the bananas and sauce with ice cream and sprinkle with peanuts for a nice, crunchy-salty contrast, or use toasted pecans or walnuts as a garnish. For a breakfast treat, add the bananas to Greek yogurt or French toast.
| 3 | tablespoons unsalted butter, cut up |
| ½ | cup light brown sugar |
| ¼ | teaspoon salt |
| 3 | tablespoons dark rum |
| ½ | teaspoon vanilla extract |
| 4 | small bananas, peeled and halved lengthwise |
| 1 | pint vanilla ice cream |
| ⅔ | cup salted cocktail peanuts or toasted pecans, walnuts, or almonds, coarsely chopped |
1. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat the butter, brown sugar, and salt. Whisk to blend them and dissolve the sugar. Simmer, whisking, for about 1 minute, or until the mixture thickens slightly.
2. Add the rum and vanilla — watch for spattering — and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds more.
3. Add the bananas and simmer, gently turning the bananas with a rubber spatula, for 1 to 2 minutes, or until they are coated with sauce. Take care that the halves do not break.
4. Spoon some of the caramel sauce into 4 shallow bowls. Add a scoop of ice cream to each. Spoon bananas and sauce on the side. Sprinkle with nuts.
Lisa Zwirn
Serves 4
Good old bananas are not only reliably available, and ripen a day or two after you bring them home, but they can also be transformed easily into an elegant dessert. Cook them briefly in a caramel-y brown sugar and rum sauce in a recipe similar to the classic 1950s New Orleans specialty Bananas Foster, which is typically flambeed tableside. Lighting the alcohol is mostly for show as very little of it burns off. Use bananas that are a tad underripe so they’re not too sweet and don’t turn to mush in the caramel sauce. Serve the bananas and sauce with ice cream and sprinkle with peanuts for a nice, crunchy-salty contrast, or use toasted pecans or walnuts as a garnish. For a breakfast treat, add the bananas to Greek yogurt or French toast.
| 3 | tablespoons unsalted butter, cut up |
| ½ | cup light brown sugar |
| ¼ | teaspoon salt |
| 3 | tablespoons dark rum |
| ½ | teaspoon vanilla extract |
| 4 | small bananas, peeled and halved lengthwise |
| 1 | pint vanilla ice cream |
| ⅔ | cup salted cocktail peanuts or toasted pecans, walnuts, or almonds, coarsely chopped |
1. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat the butter, brown sugar, and salt. Whisk to blend them and dissolve the sugar. Simmer, whisking, for about 1 minute, or until the mixture thickens slightly.
2. Add the rum and vanilla — watch for spattering — and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds more.
3. Add the bananas and simmer, gently turning the bananas with a rubber spatula, for 1 to 2 minutes, or until they are coated with sauce. Take care that the halves do not break.
4. Spoon some of the caramel sauce into 4 shallow bowls. Add a scoop of ice cream to each. Spoon bananas and sauce on the side. Sprinkle with nuts.
Lisa Zwirn can be reached at [email protected].
