Fried Bananas Almandine

This dessert is the bistro classic that’s quietly disappeared from menus, which is a shame because it takes about ten minutes to put together and looks like serious pastry work on the plate. Halved bananas sizzling in butter with sliced almonds over a pool of chocolate sauce kissed with Grand Marnier.

Clarified butter is the right choice for the saute. Regular butter scorches at the high heat needed to caramelize bananas, but clarified butter (with the milk solids removed) tolerates the temperature without burning, leaving you with golden-brown bananas instead of bitter brown spots.

Use bananas that are firm but ripe. Soft bananas turn to mush in the pan and won’t hold their shape on the plate. Look for fruit with yellow skins and just a hint of green at the stem.

Warming the chocolate sauce with the orange liqueur is the move. Cold sauce cools the bananas instantly and you lose the temperature contrast that makes the dish memorable. Hot sauce, hot bananas, the alcohol just barely simmered to take the edge off.

Plate the chocolate first, the bananas on top, and shower the almonds across like confetti.

Chef Tips

• Toast the almond slices in a dry pan first, separately from the bananas. Sliced almonds burn in seconds.
• Pat banana halves dry before adding to the pan so they sear instead of steam.
• Use Grand Marnier or Cointreau for a softer orange note. Triple Sec works but reads more harshly.
• Serve immediately. Bananas turn from gold to gray within minutes off the heat.

Variations

• Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side for hot-and-cold contrast.
• Drizzle with caramel sauce instead of chocolate for a butterscotch banana spin.
• Use rum or bourbon in place of orange liqueur for a tropical or American twist.