The Banana in Summer

The season of peaches and raspberries, the brief moment of sweet melons and plums, is not, at first glance, a sensible time to be thinking about bananas. Like broccoli, they’ll be inevitable soon enough. But for those of us with cereal-eating families and/or small children, bananas are a constant. Being without a supply of them is no more thinkable than being out of onions.

The trick is having a supply of bananas , as opposed to a supply of Bananas That Have Seen Better Days. In summer’s heat, these fruits can go from greenish-yellow not-ready-yet to purest ebony in just about the time it takes to say, “Yes, we have no bananas.”

Fortunately, there are a couple of very tasty things you can make from bananas that are beyond the slicing stage, things that are particularly welcome in summer.

I learned this from a friend who is constantly on the lookout for easy, low-calorie sweets. It tastes like rich, fruity soft-serve ice cream, yet it has no added fat or sugar. In fact, there are only two ingredients: bananas and a food processor, without which it cannot be made. It can be made as soon as the banana freezes solid and can be kept frozen for up to two weeks. The grinding process breaks the fruit down very quickly; don’t try to do more than two bananas at a time unless you have a large - capacity machine.

FROZEN BANANA CREAM

1 thoroughly ripe banana, dark yellow and with many black spots

Cut banana into roughly 1-inch chunks. Wrap tightly in plastic, making flattened package so fruit will freeze quickly. Freeze fruit. When wanted, break up chunks, process just until mousse-like, 20 to 30 seconds, and serve at once. Makes 1 serving.

Bananas that are completely, I mean terminally, squishy and black will work fine in this recipe; just don’t use anything that has actually started to ferment. What you get is actually a tender cake, close-crumbed but not heavy, and sort of tropical tasting. The loaves will be difficult to slice thinly when first cooled, but they will have a lovely crisp, buttery crust. Once tightly wrapped or put in a cake tin and stored overnight, the crust softens and the cake firms up. The bread also freezes well. One more thing: Use only soft, eating-quality dates; chopped dates sold for baking taste like sweetened sawdust.

SPICED DATE-CASHEW-BANANA BREAD

3 cups flour

3/4 cup chopped eating-quality dates

3/4 cup chopped toasted cashew nuts (if using salted nuts, omit salt in dry ingredients and use unsalted butter)

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 cup minus 1 tablespoon sugar

Grated zest of 1 lemon

3/4 cup butter, cut in chunks

1 1/2 cups coarsely mashed very ripe bananas, about 4 medium

3 eggs

Butter 3 small (6x3 1/2x2-inch) loaf pans, line bottoms with wax paper or baking parchment and set aside.

Using fingertips, toss 2 tablespoons flour with dates until each chunk is separate. Stir in cashews and set aside.

Combine remaining flour with baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.

Process sugar in food processor with lemon zest until lemon is finely ground. Add butter and process until smooth, then whir in banana. Beat in eggs, 1 at time.

Transfer banana mixture to mixing bowl and beat in dry ingredients, adding in 2 batches. Fold in date and cashew mixture.

Divide batter among pans, smooth tops and rap loaves sharply straight down to dislodge any large air bubbles. Bake at 350 degrees until wood pick inserted in center comes out dry, about 45 minutes. If tops start to overbrown before centers are done, cover with foil. Cool on wire racks. Makes 3 loaves.

Note: To mix without food processor, follow all directions above, except--cream butter with sugar in large mixing bowl. Beat in finely grated lemon zest, then very thoroughly mash banana. Beat eggs in 1 at time and from then on follow rest of directions.