FLAMBÉED BANANAS WITH CYPRUS HARDWOOD SMOKED SALT
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 bananas, peeled, cut in half, the halves sliced
- lengthwise
- ¼ cup bourbon or brandy
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
- ¼ cup crème fraîche or 2 scoops vanilla bean ice cream
- 2 two-finger pinches Cyprus hardwood smoked, Halen Môn oak smoked, Maldon smoked, or Maine Apple Smoked salt
Instructions:
This dish has everything. Banana sugars caramelizing in hot butter, bourbon exploding into fire, and a globe of ice cream—the whole thing set into a smoky haze, like a carnival entering a battlefield.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the butter and swirl around the skillet to coat the bottom. When the butter is almost completely melted, add the bananas and sauté until the bottoms are crispy brown, 3 to 4 minutes, checking by slightly lifting one edge of a piece with a spatula. Taking care not to break the slices, flip and fry the bananas until the bottoms are golden, about 3 minutes. Arrange the bananas on plates or shallow bowls.
- Remove the skillet from the heat and add the bourbon. Return the pan to the heat and bring the liquid to a boil. Stir in the sugar until melted.
- Scoop the crème fraiche or ice cream over the banana and drizzle the sauce over everything. Sprinkle with the salt.
- OPTION: Thrill-seekers and bourbon-lovers can opt to deglaze the pan by pouring an additional 2 ounces of bourbon into the hot skillet and tilting the pan edge into the flame to ignite the boiling alcohol; then drizzle the sauce over the bananas.