Serves: 2
Cost: ~€0.70
Preparation and cooking time: 10 minutes
Calories: ~273 per 1.5 bananas, not including cream or butter
I’m almost certain these have a name – I mean a “proper” name; something like “Bananas Foster” (and no, that’s not these) but looking around online I was unable to find any specific title for this dish, so I just called it by what it is. I should add as well for my American readers that when I say “grilled”, I really mean that in the English sense of the word, since I believe most of you call it the broiler, right? “Broiled bananas” really doesn’t sound good to me… I have an image in my mind of a poor little banana being burnt to a crisp and that wouldn’t really do at all!
No, these bananas are grilled (from above) and they rock! As with the oat-rolled cookies I posted some time ago this is one of those dishes that we used to eat a lot at home when I was little. It’s just perfect because if you’ve had a good, satisfying Sunday lunch but you’re just hankering after something a little bit sweet, and you don’t want to spend yet another hour or so in the kitchen then you can whip these up in less than ten minutes. We always called them “flambéed bananas” because they do have many of the elements that flambéed bananas might have, but they’re made in a more simple way, and actually without any flambéing, which is probably just as well since big flames aren’t always a good idea in domestic kitchens :D.
They’re an excellent way to use up old, bruised bananas – indeed, I actually recommend you to use the blackest bananas you can find (well, maybe not completely black, but you know what I mean) – since the more ripe the banana, the more delicious the end result. For this dish today I had only “fresh” bananas, at their peak of ripeness, but the results were still good.
It was often my father who would make these. He cooked Sunday lunch a lot as my mother often worked Saturday nights (she was a nurse) so while she was catching up with some sleep he was busy in the kitchen. I actually forgot to add the butter for these. In the past I’d always dot them with butter before grilling, but I actually didn’t miss the butter at all in the end, and it sure makes them healthier, although I have included it in the ingredients in case you want to try it.
Another wonderful addition is a dash of brandy over the top of the bananas and I can heartily recommend this. Serve with cream – either whipped or simply pouring – or even ice-cream and you’ve got yourself a great dessert!
Have a great day folks – see you back here soon :).
Cinnamon Grilled Bananas
Ingredients
- Bananas (around 1 – 1.5 per person)
- Soft brown sugar
- Cinnamon
- Lemon juice
- Butter (optional)
Instructions
- Start off by cutting off the tops and bottoms of the bananas, and then slice them in half while they’re still in their peels (this will help prevent them from breaking). Remove the skins and arrange the banana halves in a shallow roasting dish. Sprinkle the tops of the bananas liberally with soft brown sugar and cinnamon and then drizzle with lemon juice. You can optionally dot butter over the bananas as well.
- Place under a hot grill/broiler for about 5 minutes (not too close to the heat source), until the sugar has melted and formed a rich, bubbling syrup around the bananas. Remove from the grill and carefully transfer onto serving plates, being sure to spoon the syrup over the bananas as well. Enjoy with pouring or whipped cream!
Comments