Lately I’ve been doing a lot of roasting. Roasting is a good way to concentrate and intensify flavors in vegetables and fruits. I like to roast my carrots when making carrot soup, for example, and sliced
mushrooms for mushroom soup. And beets, of course, are lovely when roasted. Though most people don’t think of roasting bananas, it’s an excellent way to bring out their musky flavor, especially if
you sprinkle them with brown sugar and a bit of dark rum first. I recently came across a recipe for Roasted Banana Muffins, and decided to give them a go. The recipe comes from Eric Lanlard, a
London-based pâtissier and owner of Cake Boy pastry shop. Eric’s original recipe did not include a streusel topping – he called for topping with banana chips – but I added it because everything
tastes better with streusel, non? Eric has a book out now, Cake Boy: Home Baking from Master Pâtissier (Mitchell Beazely, 2011), and is working on another book on tarts, Tart It Up, which will be out in the fall. You’ll also be seeing him on t.v. soon, so stay tuned, because after meeting him I can tell you that he’s as charming as he is talented.
