Let’s go totally bananas ... S
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We cooks can’t wait for our own gardens and the farms around and about to begin harvesting local produce, but it’s still annoyingly a few weeks away.
The first of the British asparagus is about to appear, so we have that pleasure to look forward to – we’ll be doing something rather unexpected with it later this month – and the strawberries can’t be far away. But little else is quite ready yet.
Certainly, fruit-wise, we’re still reliant on the countries of Europe and the world who are a little further ahead of us in the growing season. And specifically, this week, countries where the very idea of seasons is just something that happens to other people. Because we’re heading to the tropics to pick bananas.
This time of year is excellent for really good bananas, though of course, they’re available yearround from all over the place, so we ought to make use of them while they’re in peak form.
This week’s recipe comes from a photograph, glimpsed on my Twitter feed, of a lovely-looking plated dessert from a restaurant called Lorne, in London’s Victoria.
Not knowing the recipe, I had to guess at the make-up of the dish, and I have to say I’m pretty chuffed with my effort.
It’s based around a classic chocolate pavé, a dessert you couldn’t move for back in the late 80s and early 90s. Essentially a chilled, set thick custard, it was, and is, a great use of chocolate, very easy to prepare, and it looks wonderful on the plate.
For the busy pastry kitchen, a slice-n-serve dessert like this is incredibly handy, especially when it’s so popular and tastes wonderful.
So, our basic chocolate pavé needs some touches of luxury. And, as bananas and chocolate get on so famously, one of the few fruits I’ll tolerate with chocolate, there’s a lovely layer of soft-set banana gelée in there.
Nuts always add a lovely aromatic element, whether it’s almonds, hazelnuts or macadamias (all of which would work well here) but peanuts have a special affinity with bananas, so I made the biscuit-y base with some roasted unsalted nuts, adding a rich, earthy note.
Top the whole thing off with a thin layer of extra-dark chocolate ganache and the dish is finished, ready to be served with a scoop of good vanilla ice-cream, some brûléed banana slices, and a sprinkle of those lovely roasted peanuts.
This can be made up well in advance, and sliced to order with little fuss, making it a perfect dinner-party pud, which will have them swooning with pleasure.