It's often hard to come up with flavour combinations that are new or surprising, but are also good because, in all honesty, they've mostly been done. But here's a new one that surprised me... banana bread with roasted garlic. I know! What the what? Garlic and banana... gross! But the secret here is roasting, which changes that powerful, strong base of all dishes Italian into a soft, subtle, almost sweet flavour. It is so subtle that even when using 2 large cloves in this mini-recipe, it was barely detectable in the final product. So feel free to let it rip with the garlic!
I found the idea for this combination in a paleo recipe (just say no to paleo!) and adapted it to a basic banana bread recipe. There is no added sugar, as the bananas provide plenty and I was aiming for a savoury loaf rather than a sweet one. That being said, a schmeer of raspberry jam on a slice of this proved delicious!
The loaf is topped with a crust of toasted pecans. I actually meant to put the pecans in the batter, but forget them in the oven.. so a crust they became. The result is very aesthetically pleasing, but they do like to fall off and make a bit of a mess, so if you want to mix them in, go for it.
If you do take up the challenge of this taste bud mind meld, let me know how it goes!
(p.s. the basil in the picture is for photographic effect only, but hey, maybe try throwing some herbs in too!)
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Happy baking!
BANANA GARLIC PECAN LITTLE LOAF
makes 2 mini-loaves
¾ cup (105g) flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
pinch of nutmeg
1 ripe banana, mashed
1 egg at room temperature
1 tablespoon milk
¼ cup (56g) unsalted butter, melted
2 cloves roasted garlic (roast by cutting one end off clove, but leave in skin. Place in 200C (400F) oven for 20-30 minutes, until soft)
¼ cup pecans, toasted and chopped
Preheat oven to 175C (350F). Grease two 4x10cm mini-loaf tins.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg together in a bowl. Make a well in the centre.
In a separate bowl, beat together egg, milk, and melted butter. Mix with mashed banana. Pour into well in dry ingredients along with roasted garlic, squeezed from its skin and chopped. Stir until just combined.
Divide between the 2 tins, smoothing the tops. Sprinkle with a generous layer of pecans (or add the pecans with the garlic). Place on a cookie sheet or in another pan to place in oven (so they don’t tip over on the racks). Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until tops spring back and a toothpick comes out clean.
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