Banana Real (Royal Banana)

This is a delicious dish that we serve along with rice in Brazil. The texture of the creamy cheese and banana along with the ham is surprising. I think that your Northern tastes will really enjoy this filling flavor. Enjoy!

3 bananas

6 slices of ham

12 slices of mozzarella cheese

18oz of bechamel (Béchamel sauce, also known as white sauce, is made from a white roux and milk)

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1 small onion, very tiny chopped

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/8 cup parsley, chopped

Bechamel Recipe

4 tbsp of unsalted butter

4 tbsp all-purpose flour

4 tbsp Parmesan cheese

33.8 oz  milk

Preheat the oven at 350F.

Prepare a more advanced bechamel than the basic recipe I offered above. The bechamel will be made in the stock pan that we are making the sauce.

In a sauce pan, melt the butter and add the onion on it

Cook onions until it get translucent

Add the flour and use spatula to mix well to make a roux.

Cook in med/low heat mixing all the time (don’t burn the flour)

Add the milk gradually, whisking without stop

Cook bechamel until you see that is beginning to thicken.

Add salt, pepper and shredded nutmeg.

Taste

Re-season (salt and pepper) as needed

Remove from the heat

Add the Parmesan cheese and the parsley

Mix well

Cut each banana in half length-wise(this recipes is for 6 portions, that’s why only 3 bananas, you can put more if you please, but it increase the amount of mozzarella slices and ham slices too, but not necessarily the amount of bechamel).

Wrap each one of this banana half in 2 slices of mozzarella, and 1 slice of ham. Place to the side

Place in sprayed 9×16 baking tray, some of the cheese bechamel sauce that we just prepared

Place wrapped bananas into the baking tray onto the bed of bechamel

Cover with remaining Bechamel

Add additional parmesan cheese to top the dish

Bake in oven on centered rack until bubbling

Place oven on Broil HI

Brown top of cheese dish

Remove from oven and serve with rice

It is ready… Serve with white rice and let me know if you liked.