Earlier this week, Erin Hawley tasked me with creating a dish out of overripe bananas. It seems like this ingredient is pretty prevalent in anyone’s house, or freezer, and I wanted to challenge myself to make something savory, since my mind automatically goes to sweet when I think about banana. The sauce is inspired by Filipino banana ketchup and Carolina mustard BBQ sauce. Banana ketchup is a really delicious condiment that I learned about from my partner Silver—usually we eat it with scrambled eggs, rice, and corned beef for breakfast, or in Filipino sweet spaghetti. In my mind, it made sense to try to cut through the sweetness of the banana with vinegar and mustard, include some warm spices and chili, and roast the chicken almost like BBQ. If you have a grill or a smoker, I would definitely recommend cooking the chicken like that. If you’re vegan or vegetarian, it’s also really good on roasted Japanese sweet potatoes (I tried this version on my first day of ‘recipe testing”). It may seem like a bit of a long shot, but I’m really happy with the way the whole dish turned out. The sweet bananas caramelize in the oven, and the chicken stays really juicy and delicious. Give it a try!
For sauce:
2 overripe bananas
⅓ c cane vinegar
½ c vegetable oil
½ tablespoon chili powder
1 tsp salt
4 cardamom pods, ground
6 cloves, ground
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
4 large cloves of garlic
For Chicken:
1 medium onion, cut into 8ths
5 carrots, cut into large pisces
1 orange, sliced into rounds
1 3-4 lb chicken
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 425. Place bananas, vinegar, veg oil chili powder, ground cardamom and clove, salt, dijon, and garlic in blender and blend until smooth. Place onion, carrot, and orange in an oven-safe pot. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Rinse the chicken and season with salt and pepper, rubbing on skin and in cavity. Place the chicken in the pot and pour the sauce over rubbing it on every part of the chicken. Place breast side up and cover. Bake for 30 minutes, uncover and let bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, until brown crispy spots appear. Let the chicken rest for about 5 minutes, carve, and serve with rice!
What's your go-to way to use up mushy bananas? Post your dish using the hashtag #mushybananas on Instagram and tag @eastforkpottery to enter our Mushy Banana Contest! The contest runs from Friday, May 22nd through Friday, May 29th—we'll pick a winner at noon EST to receive a $100 credit to the shop.