Banana skin: don’t chuck it, cook it

When cooked down, banana skin takes on the characteristics of eggplant: silky, slippery and neutral in flavour. It’s fantastic!

Revelation: Keralan kale and banana skin curry. Picture: Craig Wall

Banana skin is used in recipes in many parts of the world including South America and India – it has even scored a guernsey in Nigella Lawson’s latest cookbook. Cooked down, it takes on the characteristics of eggplant: silky, slippery and surprisingly neutral in flavour. It’s also full of nutritional benefits, from gut-friendly insoluble fibre to mood-boosting tryptophan. Use the banana flesh in a refreshing lassi, laced with chai syrup or whatever sweet spices you’ve got, from cinnamon to cardamom and nutmeg. All good in banana bread too!

Keralan kale & banana skin curry

2-3 ripe yellow banana skins, topped and tailed

1 bunch Tuscan kale

2 tablespoons coconut oil (or olive oil or ghee)

1 large onion, sliced into wedges

3-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, grated

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon Keen’s curry powder

1 tablespoon mustard seeds

½ cup mixed lentils (see tips)

½ cup flaked coconut

1 can (400g) diced tomatoes

1 small can coconut milk

To serve

Fried curry leaves (optional), yoghurt, coriander, roti bread and/or basmati rice

Boil a litre of water. Cut banana skins into bite-sized pieces, place in a bowl and pour over half the boiling water; leave to sit for 30 minutes. Shred kale leaves, pop in another bowl and pour over the rest of the boiled water. Heat oil or ghee in a heavy-bottomed pan with a lid, add onions and salt, wait for a sizzle, then pop on the lid, drop the heat to medium-low and leave to sweat for 8-10 minutes until the onions soften. Add garlic, ginger, turmeric and curry powder; sauté for 5 minutes.

Stir in mustard seeds, lentils and coconut and let it cook away for a minute or two. Drain the banana skins and kale, reserving the liquid as your stock. Crank the heat to medium-high, add the banana skins and sauté for 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, coconut milk and banana skin “stock” and stir. Simmer for 45 minutes, until the curry is reduced and the lentils are soft and creamy.

Raise the heat once more, stir through the kale and bring the lot to an enthusiastic burble. Cook for a final 2 minutes or until kale has softened but is still bright green. Season to taste. Serve with fried curry leaves (optional but excellent), yoghurt, coriander, warmed roti and/or steamed basmati rice. Serves 4

Spiced banana lassi

Spiced banana lassi

2-3 ripe bananas

½ cup natural yoghurt

1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

3-4 cups ice (depends how icy you like it)

2 cups cold water

Chop bananas into chunks and pop into the jug of a blender with yoghurt, honey/maple syrup, most of the cinnamon (reserving a little for sprinkling on top), ice and water. Pulse a couple of times to break up the ice, then blend until super smooth. Pour into glasses and garnish with a final sprinkle of cinnamon. Serves 4

Tips

Use any combo of red/yellow/brown lentils – we used Persian red. You could even use split lentils, which will cook in half the time with half the amount of liquid, and yield a more daal-like texture.

Banana flesh can be frozen for use in smoothies or banana bread. If you have whole bananas in the freezer, the blackened skins can be used in this curry. Once they’re cooked, you won’t notice the difference.

To make either of these recipes fully plant-based, use coconut yoghurt.