Chai-spiced Roasted Bananas

I'm a huge fan of bananas. They're quick, cheap, and transport well for the most part. But I always seem to either overbuy them and I usually end up throwing a few into the freezer for later use because I can't eat them fast enough. I wanted to find a way to try and use up the latest batch before they were doomed to the world of frostbite.

Enter this month's Vegetarian Times. They had a delicious recipe for Roasted Bananas with Jamaican Allspice. Although I am a fan of allspice, I wanted to try a little something different with the spices. I love chai and anything chai-spiced, so it was only right I give it a try. And I'm quite glad I did. This is a very tasty and easy dessert, and definitely one that can be whipped up in a matter of minutes. I also love roasted and baked dishes that are small enough to make in my toaster oven and doesn't require heating up my entire kitchen.

Serve by themselves or with a tasty scoop of vanilla ice cream. And I'm going to be honest - I honestly didn't think I'd like this as much as I did. I'm not normally a hot banana or banana dessert person, but this was quite fantastic, especially with the ice cream. You'll want to give this a try!



P.S. This picture is proof I use no fancy photo trickery! It's very hard to take a picture of a hot and cold item without it being a big old melted mess! =)

Chai-spiced Roasted Bananas
My variation of a Vegetarian Times' recipe

2 oz Smart Balance margarine (or butter)
1/2 c light brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cardamom
1/8 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
A pinch of cloves
A pinch of nutmeg
2 large bananas

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Melt margarine in a flat shallow container. Combine sugar and spices in another flat container. Peel bananas and cut in half lengthwise, then in half again. Dip flat side of banana in melted butter then into sugar and spice mixture. Set face down in a lightly oiled baking dish. Repeat with remaining banana pieces. Place into oven and bake for 10 minutes. Be sure sauce doesn't start to burn! Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes. Serve bananas with ice cream and drizzle remaining sauce over ice cream and bananas.