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.
Mariuska….can I use any type of banana? Or is there a special type that you feel works better in this dish?
Yes, you can use any type of banana. The one that you like to eat, that is the one that is going to do good in this dish