Don’t you just hate it when those lovely, firm bananas turn into those blackened, soggy things lurking at the bottom of your fruit bowl?
Although many people argue that the riper they are, the more flavour they have, for some reason I have a pathological hatred of any soft, brown bits on my bananas. So what to do with them, I feel so guilty about putting any good food in the rubbish bin? Hoorah, my conscious has been saved! I have discovered the joys of banana bread. You will need: 3 or 4 ripe bananas (the riper the better), mashed up, 75g melted butter, 220g sugar, 1 egg, beaten, 1 teaspoon vanilla essence, 1 teaspoon baking soda, inch of salt, 250g of plain flour, handful of chopped walnuts or pecans.
There is no need for a food processor for this recipe. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4, 180C/160C Fan (175°C). Mix the butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Add the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in along with the nuts. Sieve the flour in last, mix gently. Pour mixture into a buttered 4×8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool before serving.
The best thing about this recipe is that it gets better and better as the bread gets staler. I like it best a couple of days old and toasted with a little butter on top, much better than when it first comes out of the oven.
You also have the benefit of feeling sanctimonious about using up left over food.
The Bombay Boys 