A great barbecue dessert, this recipe can be pre-assembled and cooked when needed. Given the unpredictable nature of our British summers, it is fortunate that these bananas can turn out equally well in the oven. Team them with a good-quality rum-and-raisin ice cream to complete the Caribbean feel.
- 6 ripe bananas
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 6 tablespoons of honey
- 6 × ¼ teaspoons of ground cinnamon
- 1 vanilla pod, split along its length with each half then cut into thirds to give six equally sized pieces
- 12 tablespoons of dark rum
- 6 squares of tinfoil, about 40 × 40 cm
- Fold the tinfoil sheets in half, then tightly fold in each side to make a rectangular parcel that’s open along the top. Ensure that the parcels are long enough to hold a banana.
- Peel the bananas and rub them with lemon juice to prevent them from going brown.
- Put one peeled banana into each foil parcel and add 2 tablespoons of rum, 1 tablespoon of honey, ¼ teaspoon of ground cinnamon and one of the six pieces of vanilla pod.
- Fold over the top edge of each parcel as tightly as possible to seal it securely. Take care not to make any holes in the foil as the sauce will leak out.
- Place each foil parcel onto the barbecue (not the hottest part), for about 10 minutes and then turn them over to cook for a further 10 minutes.
- Remove the parcels from the barbecue using tongs and / or gloves, again taking care not to pierce the foil.
- To serve, carefully cut open one end of the parcel and decant the banana and its cooking juices into a bowl. The parcels and their contents will be very hot, so do take care.
- You can remove the piece of vanilla pod from each bowl if you wish before adding a scoop of ice cream and serving.
- If you’re cooking these bananas in the oven, prepare the parcels in exactly the same way, place on a baking tray and allow 25 – 30 minutes of cooking at 180°C / 350°F / gas mark 4.