Recipe from Nigella Lawson
Adapted by Charlotte Druckman
- Total Time
- 1 hour, plus soaking and cooling
- Rating
- 4(427)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Although one may assume banana peels are the star of the show, they’re minor players in this flavor-packed production, adapted from “Cook, Eat, Repeat” by Nigella Lawson (Vintage Digital, 2020). It all hinges on the performance of a concentrated paste made with shallots, ginger, garlic and a red chile of your choice. This mixture forms the base of an intensely aromatic sauce that would make anything taste good. Feel free to swap out the banana skins for their surprising doppelgänger, eggplant, and the cauliflower for broccoli, potato or parsnip. Prep makes up the bulk of the work in this recipe; the curry itself comes together in under 30 minutes. —Charlotte Druckman
Featured in: Think Outside the Banana. Eat the Peel.
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Ingredients
Yield:2 to 4 servings
- 3large banana peels, tough stems and bottom ends trimmed
- 1small cauliflower and tender leaves, trimmed into bite-size florets (about 5 cups)
- 1¼teaspoons ground turmeric
- Fine salt
- ¼pound shallots (about 2 to 3 large shallots), peeled and roughly chopped
- 1(1½-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced into thick coins
- 1fresh red chile (such as bird’s-eye or Fresno), quartered
- 4fat garlic cloves
- 1small bunch cilantro, stems separated and reserved, leaves chopped
- ¾teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2tablespoons tomato paste
- 1(13-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk
- 2½tablespoons lemon juice
- 1½teaspoons granulated sugar
- 2teaspoons flaky sea salt, plus more to taste
- Cooked rice or flatbread (such as naan or roti), for serving (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
431 calories; 24 grams fat; 18 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 54 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 19 grams sugars; 7 grams protein; 982 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Bring a large pot of water to a full boil.
Step
2
Put the banana peels in a medium-large heatproof bowl. Pour in enough of the boiling water to cover, reserving the rest for cooking the cauliflower.
Step
3
Add the cauliflower florets and leaves to the pot and boil for 5 to 7 minutes, or until fork tender.
Step
4
While the cauliflower cooks, gently stir ½ teaspoon each turmeric and fine salt into the bowl with the soaking banana peels. Let sit until they’ve softened up and are cool enough to handle, around 30 minutes.
Step
5
Meanwhile, once the cauliflower is tender, drain it into a colander in the sink; set aside while the banana peels cool and you make the curry paste.
Step
6
Prepare the curry paste: Place the shallots, ginger and chile into a 4-cup liquid measuring cup or wide jar that accommodates an immersion blender.
Step
7
Using the flat side of a heavy knife, bruise the garlic to help remove the skins, then add the peeled cloves to the measuring cup followed by the cilantro stems, cinnamon and remaining ¾ teaspoon turmeric. Use the immersion blender to turn everything into a paste. (Be patient: At first you’ll never think it’s going to happen, but after a while, everything will obligingly turn into a vibrantly colored mush.)
Step
8
Drain the banana skins, squeezing out any excess liquid, and either chop them into slightly smaller-than-bite-size pieces, or take a fork and, with the interior of the banana skins facing you, press the tines into the top and push all the way down so that you have long, thin strips.
Step
9
Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or medium skillet over medium-low. When the oil is hot, add the curry paste and fry for 7 minutes, stirring most — if not quite all — of the time. As it cooks, the paste will seem to condense and tighten; it will also lose its cheery brightness.
Step
10
Stir in the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Add the coconut milk, lemon juice, sugar and flaky salt. Whisk to combine, scraping the browned curry from the bottom of the pan. Cook, uncovered, for 5 minutes, letting it bubble, reduce and thicken a little.
Step
11
Add the banana skins to the pan, lower the heat and bring to a simmer for another 10 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened and the banana skins are soft. Tip in the cauliflower florets and leaves and cook until they’re hot all the way through.
Step
12
Taste and adjust for salt as needed. Scatter the reserved chopped cilantro leaves over the curry and serve with rice or flatbread, if desired.
Ratings
4
out of 5
427
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Cooking Notes
DMR
The inside part of bananas can be eaten.
agnes
Are we talking ripe peels, perfectly yellow, or green?
CD
Nigella Lawson came up with this recipe so she could do something with the peels left behind after baking the banana bread(s) in her new cookbook. Those call for overripe or very ripe bananas. So I went with very ripe accordingly. But, I realized it would work with any degree of ripe peel. The harder the peels, the longer the soak.
Michael Lebwohl
Love the recipe! But now I’ve got all this leftover banana core that I’d hate to throw in the compost. Anybody have any tips on how to use the leftover banana once you remove the peel?
JoAnn
Only use organic for this recipe ! Bananas are wrapped in pesticides on the trees !
Justin R.
Three things: First, this tastes fine, but not commensurate to the fairly high effort; if you are going to invest this kind of time in a dish, you can do better than this recipe. Second, eye protection is warranted wherever you run an immersion blender in dry onions and chili pepper. Third, slicing banana peels with a fork is an imperfect process.
Natasha Atkins
Make sure to use organic bananas. Toxic fungicides are still used on conventionally grown bananas. The vet at the National Zoo said they do not feed their elephants anything but organic bananas because of the chemicals.
BMYS
Recipe should say ripe bananas. But quite apart from that, this is a very mediocre curry that isn't worth the effort you have to put in
Anne
Wow was I excited to cook this after reading the description - boy am I sorry I did. There was nothing intensely aromatic about the end product. Just a bowl full of disappointment. And a hungry sad boy at my dinner table. Straight to the compost bin.
CD
No you don't need to soak your eggplant, but you might want to salt it first to draw out some of its water content. (Cut it into slightly smaller than bite-size pieces, sprinkle with salt on both sides and let it sit in a colander in the sink to drain. Then rinse it off and pat it dry.) They may need more time to cook than the peels, so I'd consider adding them when you add the cauliflower. Hope that's helpful!
chrisf
Made it with Italian eggplant and cauliflower both roasted - with same curry preparation - delicious.
Jonne
Unremarkable as curries go. Don't think the banana peels added any value. Better off in the compost heap to feed the garden.
calirafox
I used half the cinnamon called for here as I thought it would be too much.Be careful to cook the curry paste on low, rather than medium low. If it cooks to hot, it will become bitter.
emily
Banana skins were just weird and didn’t taste great...wouldn’t bother next time!
ET
Where to begin with this recipe? I love the idea to use up banana peels, but in practice they didn't work in this recipe: I used quite ripe banana peels, but they were still bitter in the curry. The curry itself was also a bit of a strange mixture and the cinnamon in particular really stood out, again making it somewhat bitter. I don't really see how this recipe could been improved since, without the banana peel, it's just a mediocre cauliflower curry.
Amber O
I made this with some about to go off fairytale eggplants rather than banana peels (per the notes) and "cheddar" (AKA orange) cauliflower, but I was pleasantly surprised at how rich tasting and satisfying this turned out to be. I find fibrous veg to be a pain in machines with lots of scraping, so I used my Thai mortar and pestle (granite) to make the paste, and it came together really easily with considerable breaks to wipe my eyes.
Rebecca
For others who don't enjoy bananas by themselves, I recommend slicing and freezing them as a smoothie ingredient. They look horrible but blend easily, even with a stick blender.
Natasha Atkins
Make sure to use organic bananas. Toxic fungicides are still used on conventionally grown bananas. The vet at the National Zoo said they do not feed their elephants anything but organic bananas because of the chemicals.
Kevin W
I would probably opt for organic bananas on this one.
ET
Where to begin with this recipe? I love the idea to use up banana peels, but in practice they didn't work in this recipe: I used quite ripe banana peels, but they were still bitter in the curry. The curry itself was also a bit of a strange mixture and the cinnamon in particular really stood out, again making it somewhat bitter. I don't really see how this recipe could been improved since, without the banana peel, it's just a mediocre cauliflower curry.
Justin R.
Three things: First, this tastes fine, but not commensurate to the fairly high effort; if you are going to invest this kind of time in a dish, you can do better than this recipe. Second, eye protection is warranted wherever you run an immersion blender in dry onions and chili pepper. Third, slicing banana peels with a fork is an imperfect process.
Lakelady
This was way too much work for boiled cauliflower! I used the eggplant option instead of banana peels. I much prefer roasted vegetables for caramelization and texture. With my leftovers, I fried some tofu with soy sauce and kecap manis. Added some chewy texture, made it much better. I won't make it again though.
Peter
Freeze the bananas in a zip loc bag. Eat like an ice cream cone.
Orange Wayfarer
In India, we cook Mocha (the Banana flower), the Thor (the stem of the banana plant) and green banana stewed in fish curry at ease. never knew banana peel could be used. That is interesting. the banana plant itself is used as Vela, a short of makeshift boat during deluge in rural parts.
emily
Banana skins were just weird and didn’t taste great...wouldn’t bother next time!
Jonne
Unremarkable as curries go. Don't think the banana peels added any value. Better off in the compost heap to feed the garden.
Anne
Wow was I excited to cook this after reading the description - boy am I sorry I did. There was nothing intensely aromatic about the end product. Just a bowl full of disappointment. And a hungry sad boy at my dinner table. Straight to the compost bin.
nina
Equivalent to what you would expect In an Indian restaurant. Amazing. Wish I doubled the recipe
calirafox
I used half the cinnamon called for here as I thought it would be too much.Be careful to cook the curry paste on low, rather than medium low. If it cooks to hot, it will become bitter.
chrisf
Made it with Italian eggplant and cauliflower both roasted - with same curry preparation - delicious.
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