Summer desserts are a great joy. I love the raspberries, strawberries and apricots that grow in my garden. (And cherries, mangoes, peaches and passionfruit from the fruit shop) But what about bananas, that most versatile of fruits?
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Bananas from our kitchen garden in Makira.
Source: Beth Montgomery 1996 |
I once lived on an island that boasted seventeen different varieties of bananas and instead of having a staple starchy food such as a yam or potato, it relied heavily on bananas to feed everyone. There were the super sweet lady finger types and your regular everyday type of banana, but by far the best was the giant orange plantain. Mmmm yum. Boiled or baked they were simply delicious.
My hausgirl pictured here with my daughter could make a fabulous banana stew. Yes, stew. And then there was the banana pudding that all the women knew how to make. I don't know the recipe but there was grated cassava and coconut cream and stacks of mushy banana, all wrapped in banana leaves and baked on the motu (stone oven). The finished product was sticky, sweet and gluey but fabulously filling.
Has anyone out there got a recipe for it?
1. ...had my first ever science books published. Thanks to Blake Education!
