Caribbean Baked Bananas with Allspice and Orange
Baked or roasted bananas turn up across the Caribbean as a homey dessert, usually run through with butter, brown sugar, and a splash of rum. None of that is necessary, because a ripe banana is already sweet and only gets sweeter as it bakes and its sugars caramelize. Here the sweetness and the glaze come from dates blended into orange juice, and the warm spice from allspice, the pimento berry that grows across Jamaica and tastes of three baking spices in one. Cinnamon and fresh nutmeg round it out, lime keeps it from turning cloying, and toasted walnuts give the soft fruit a crunchy top. It is naturally coconut-free, unlike much island baking, and comes together with four bananas and whatever is in the spice drawer.
Ingredients
- 4 wholes Bananas, firm-ripe, peeled and halved lengthwise
- 1 Orange, zest of the whole, plus 0.5 cup juice
- 2 Medjool dates, pitted
- 1/2 tsp Allspice, ground
- 1/2 tsp cassia cinnamon, ground
- 1/4 tsp Nutmeg, freshly grated
- 3 tbsp Raisins
- 1 tbsp Lime juice, fresh
- 1/4 cup Walnuts, toasted and chopped, to finish
Method
- Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Blend the pitted dates with the orange juice and lime juice until smooth. This is the glaze, and blending the dates in is how it gets its sweetness and light syrupy body with no added sugar, since a banana baking in plain juice would stay thin and sharp.
- Lay the banana halves cut side up in a baking dish in a single layer. Scatter the raisins around them and pour the date-orange glaze over the top, then dust the whole dish with the allspice, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
- Allspice is the key spice, not an afterthought: the dried Jamaican pimento berry tastes like clove, cinnamon, and nutmeg at once, and it is what makes baked bananas read as Caribbean rather than as a plain fruit bake.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, spooning the glaze back over the bananas once halfway through, until they are soft and glossy and the edges have caramelized to deep gold. That browning is the banana's own sugar concentrating, which is why the dish needs no sugar added to it.
- Toast the walnuts in a dry pan until fragrant and chop them. Spoon the warm bananas and their glaze into bowls, scatter the walnuts and the orange zest over the top, and serve at once. Cold leftovers are good stirred into morning oats.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 230 calories, 3 g protein, 5 g fiber, 5 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
