Anna Mckay shares a recipe perfect for celebrating Chinese New Year
Laura Reynolds reviews the latest arrival to the York cafe scene
Anna Mckay tempts us to break the new year healthy eating streak.
Just 4 days until Christmas..get in the mood with some festive nosh!
When I’ve bought too many bananas in a potassium-fuelled spree at the supermarket they generally lie forgotten in the fruit bowl for a good few days. Then speckles start to develop on them and I think they look sort of appetising but I know I’m kidding myself that they’ll get eaten. And then I lie in wait for the next few days until they start to turn that horrible shrivelled black colour and go squishy. That’s when I pounce on them with indecent glee, pulling out my recipe card, laughing maniacally. Well, sort of.
This recipe is from a friend in America, hence the cup measurements but I just use a teacup. Every now and then I lose the recipe and have to request another copy which is dutifully provided. It’s so easy, you simply mix all the wet ingredients together with the dry ones and tip it into a baking tin. I wouldn’t know what to do with past-it bananas without this recipe and once you get in the swing of things it will take literally ten minutes to get all the ingredients together and in the oven for sweet banana-bready goodness.
And if you’re allergic to nuts, don’t have any, or just don’t like them, leave them out- it will still taste great!
Ingredients:
Method:
1) In a large bowl mix together all of the dry ingredients, keeping ¼ of a cup of the nuts aside to sprinkle on the top of the loaf later.
2) Combine the mashed bananas and the rest of the wet ingredients, then stir it all into the dry ingredients with a wooden spoon, making sure not to over-stir the mixture.
3) If the mix looks too dry or feels too stiff, add a splash of milk to loosen it up. It’s a lumpy batter, quite thick and definitely not runny. The wooden spoon should be able to stand up in the mix.
4) Spoon the mix into a greased 9” by 5” loaf tin or an ovenproof dish.
5) Sprinkle the remaining nuts over the top and bake in a moderate oven, 180°C (Gas mark 4) on the middle shelf for an hour.
6) The loaf is done when a knife or skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean and not sticky.
7) Leave to cool.
At home we eat this sliced quite thickly and spread with butter. I have been known to eat banana bread secretly in lectures or on the train home as it generally survives the chaos of my bag. It’ll keep for a week or so, but usually disappears before then. Enjoy!
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