Banana Fritters with Orange Blossom Honey and Mint Butter

And now for something completely different!

After all that healthy raw food, how could I resist coating my entire kitchen with a nice layer of sunflower oil? I mean, sometimes, we've all just got to say to ourselves, "Yep... SO taking a shower after this."

I've always been a huge fan of banana fritters. Well, actually, deep fried bananas in any sort of fashion. Jeremy and I used to get bananas that were rolled in coconut before being put into an egg roll wrapper for deep frying, but I've got to say I like these better. The batter is made with almond meal and minced dried coconut, which gives it more substance than if I had just used a fine flour. Also, the tangy orange blossom honey cuts the grease a little bit, and gives it a kick, which is really nice. The mint butter is a very nice finish; freshly made it's spreadable and melts deliciously into a silken mint glaze on these fritters. Yum!

The mint butter, I have to say, was a very happy accident. I originally was going to make a mint cream with coconut milk, but I thought it should be thickened, so I added some coconut oil. Much to my amazement, it separated! So I worked some of the liquid out of that beautiful, minty butter, and now it's a solid mass of coconutty goodness. :D

Also, I want to touch on why I use honey in this dish, even though this is a vegan blog. I thought long and hard about this choice, because I want everyone to be able to enjoy my dishes. I understand that many vegans make different choices for themselves, so I'm not trying to turn this into a debate. The honey that I'm using here is from a local, trusted source. I believe that this is a much more sustainable choice for me, because the town I live in is so isolated. (You have to take two ferries to get here from the mainland, as we are on a peninsula, surrounded by mountains.) Plus, I love the flavour it imparts to this dish, especially. Alternatively, you could use agave.

With that said, on to the recipe!


Banana Fritters

4 bananas, thickly sliced diagonally
1 Tb. lemon juice

Evenly coat the bananas in lemon juice and let them sit while you make up the batter.

1 cup almond meal
1/4 cup tapioca starch
3tb shredded coconut
sprinkle cinnamon
pinch salt
1/2 cup water

sunflower oil

Mix dry ingredients together, then add water. You want the batter to be just thin enough to coat the bananas. The coconut and almond meal will soak up some extra water, so add more water by the teaspoon as needed. I used a tablespoon after letting mine sit for about 5 minutes.

In a nonstick pot or deep pan, add about 1/2-3/4 inch of oil. Heat to medium-high, or until you dip the tip of a chopstick in and it bubbles.

Coat the bananas evenly while you're waiting for the oil. I tossed half of them into the batter first, then used the second half when the first was finished. Fry bananas until golden, and place onto a clean towel to drain. (Also, I used chopsticks to turn the fritters, I find there's less splattering - but then, I have a steady hand with chopsticks.)


Tangy Orange Blossom Honey

3 Tb. honey (or agave)
1/2 tsp. orange blossom water
splash of lemon juice

Whisk ingredients together until creamy. I heated up the bowl slightly on low heat until the honey was softer.


Mint Butter

Handful of peppermint, stems removed
2 Tb. firm coconut oil
1/2 can of coconut milk, cream only (must be separated; if not, just a few tablespoons or so)

In the food processor, add coconut milk and peppermint, and blend until smooth. In small chunks, add the coconut oil. Once it looks like a watery mess, spoon it out into a fine mesh strainer. Gently press the water out, making sure not to push the solids through. It helps to roll it around and knead it, almost like a bread dough, or use a spatula to smooth it out, and drain the water. (You'll know what I mean when you're doing it. :) Reserve the liquid for use in something else.

When finished, plate fritters with a drizzle of honey and mint butter on the side. Can you say shower time? I knew you could. :)