Friday, March 23, 2012

Simplicity

It's March 23. Last March we were still dealing with winter, grayness and snow. It was so bad that I was trying to cheer up my good Canadian buddy with a series of recipes celebrating Mapril. I was planning to do it again this year but winter was a no show here in KC. We've already had a week of weather in the low 80s. LOW 80s! Right now things are growing.


Things are blooming.


Things are....happening.


Them bunnies is FORNICATING under there, I SEES THEM!

As you can imagine, we are ecstatic about the weather but it leaves us confused as to seasonal cooking. It's too hot for stews and soups, way too soon for spring veggies. I pondered this as I was sitting on my couch and eating a banana. I love bananas. This particular banana, just beginning to turn ripe, triggered a flash of curiosity. This banana would taste good paired with rosemary. I didn't know how and it's not very often that I have these sort of insights regarding food. Real chefs do, they do all the time. They dream of food and wake up ready to make the recipes they dreamed the night before. I am not a real "chef". However I am a good googler. Not too much out there in planet google on "bananas with rosemary" except for one very lovely recipe. Yes ladies, it's the very pretty Eric Ripert in a short little video making grilled bananas with rosemary and maple.

rosemary bananas

I LOVE simple. AND it has maple. So I'm calling it, a MAPRIL 2012 recipe. Brush some softened butter on a cookie sheet or broiler pan lined with aluminum foil. Peel your slightly under-ripe bananas and cut them in length-wise. Brush the bananas with softened butter. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Brush with maple syrup. Top with rosemary leaves and broil roughly 4 - 5 minutes. When browned and removed from the broiler, lightly brush with bourbon.

roasted rosemary bananas

Serve while still warm. Eric suggests this would be a good side dish for white meats such as chicken or pork and because your bananas are under-ripe and not yet overly sweet and you've roasted them, they are a starchy almost like a potato especially when you salt and pepper them. The rosemary is a perfect pairing with the flavor of the bananas and the maple syrup. I'm not totally sold that you need the bourbon but who am I to argue with Eric Ripert. No, I'll thank him instead for a stupid simple dish.

8 comments:

MakingSpace said...

purty flars, purty bananas, ahh

the dogs' mother said...

I was looking over some bbq bananas on the interwebz the other day - the kind stuff with chocolate chips, etc.
This is far more elegant! And it has maple - what more could one want?

the dogs' mother said...

ps - Abby sez thank you for keeping track of the fornicating bunnies - is exhausting keeping track of the x-rated squirrels around here.

Dani said...

Damn rabbits!

Susan said...

yummy ! yeah Mapril !!! I hope I'm your good Canadian buddy 'cause if not ... well I'm jealous. Maybe it's time for a maple Mapril DSS ?!? xos

Melissa said...

oh yum! we just got back from vacant where they served bananas glazed in some kind of sweet covering...soo good. will have to give this a go. this weather is cuh- razy!

moi said...

You know what else tastes good with rosemary? Rabbit!

Big Shamu said...

I'll have to ask Jackson about that Moi, since I think he had a little taste of Spring Veal Rabbit when I wasn't watching.