Food
You have leftover bananas that are a bit past their best... now what?
Here are two great recipes on how to use ALL of your leftover bananas.
Here is a lovely recipe to use up those bruised or unloved bananas that are sitting on your countertop right now. Don’t worry if your banana has brown spots - this is a sign that your banana is maturing and most likely will be sweeter too.
This combination of warm flaky dough, melted dark chocolate and caramelised bananas will send your tastebuds out of this world - or into the next room. But remember, be careful who you share these with because they might all go in a flash and you’ll be asking yourself “who ate my chocolate banana croissants?”
Makes 15-18
1 rolled puff pastry sheet
50g chocolate or chocolate spread
2 bananas, sliced (save peels for later)
Icing sugar
Preheat the oven to 200C
If the puff pastry was in the fridge prior, be sure to allow the pastry to come to a room temp or leave it out for 10 minutes before unrolling the pastry sheet. Next, cut the pastry into triangles. I’ve divided the sheet into thirds -making it a lot easier to cut.
Add the pastry now to a parchment lined baking sheet. Next, add a small dollop of the chocolate spread to the based of the pastry and the sliced bananas. With both hands, roll the base of the pastry (where the chocolate and banana meet) and roll forward to the point of the pastry.
Make sure you give enough space between each pastry before placing in the oven for 10-15 minutes until the pastry has puffed into a golden pillowy cloud.
Remove from the oven and rest for a few minutes before finishing off a dust of icing sugar.
Keep in a sealed container up to one week.
Are you ready to have your mind blown? This recipe utilises the entire banana peel - except for the top/bottom bit. Just another recipe to help you waste less and save more.
Yes, if you’re still confused - we’re going to be cooking and eating bananas peels.
Bananas are one of the most thrown away foods in the world and just here in the UK, we waste around 1.4 million bananas every day - including the peels too!
Here’s a quick and tasty BBQ “pulled pork” sandwich. Eat the banana for breakfast and have the peel for lunch - easy, done, in a flash!
Makes 2 sandwiches
3 bananas peels, shredded
1-2 tsp olive oil
1-2 tbsp BBQ sauce
¼ tsp mustard powder
¼ tsp smoked parpika
¼ tsp cumin powder
Pinch of salt and black pepper
Cornichons
Sauerkraut
2 Sandwich rolls
Make sure to give the banana peels a good wash and rinse before cooking. I prefer using organic bananas when I make this sandwich.
Add the shredded banana peels to a bowl and add the spices, oil and sauce. Mix well and until the banana peels are covered in the BBQ sauce mixture.
On a medium high heat, add the banana peels to the frying pan and mix occasionally. Add a splash of water if the peels begin to stick to the frying pan. Stir and cook well for about 10 minutes until the peels are soft enough that you can cut through the peel easily.
Remove the bananas peels from the heat. Begin to assemble your sandwich. Add a bit of lettuce to the base of your sandwich with some sliced cornichons. Next, add the smoked BBQ banana peels and finish off sauerkraut or coleslaw, if you’d like.
Store your bruised and brown spotted bananas in a sealed container or bag in your freezer up to 2 months. Great for making smoothies and adding frozen chopped bananas to porridge and baked goods. Add the peels to your food waste collection service or at home compost. You can also make banana peel tea and feed your plants.
Featured Image © Max La Manna
