Banana and bacon, with a drizzle of maple syrup, makes a gorgeously indulgent, hearty breakfast. Have it on its own, low carb way, or pile it on a thick slice of fresh sourdough.
The things this dish is not
Let’s be honest: this is not a major culinary discovery. It’s not a new umami, raw fish, salted caramel or cooking things in Coca-Cola.
It’s very far from the snail porridge and it’s not remotely as brave as green tea brining. It’s not a cronut. It’s not the fifty cloves of garlic chicken.
I have to say it’s also not courgetti or cucumbetti (has it been invented yet?) It doesn’t contain chia or quinoa or - thank heavens - kale. It’s not related to mashed avocado on toast.
Nothing on par with hoppy craft beer or deconstructed latte. It isn’t coconut water, or agave water or even cactus water - in fact, it isn’t WATER.
Not vegan or even vegetarian. Dairy free it’s not and a paleo caveman would have struggled to procure it. It’s clean, but only in terms of utensils used to cook it. It isn’t gluten free - oops. Well, not if slapped on a toasted slice of sourdough.
I’ll admit its inferiority to pomegranate chutney. Lentils crumble sounds more interesting and more filling. Sprouts with chestnuts and scrambled eggs with truffles leave a much more lasting impression on the diner, and so undoubtedly does chicken in chocolate sauce - be it a good or a bad impression.
I don't think I'll ever publish a cookbook that would sell like hot cakes on the strength of that one recipe, nor will it often be googled as ‘Fiend’s banana bacon’.
But one thing is certain: it makes a jolly good breakfast.
How to make banana and bacon for breakfast?
It couldn’t be easier: fry the bacon rashers until as crisp (or not) as you like them. I say streaky, because I think it’s incomparably better than the usually dry and chewy back bacon which we also tend to overcook.
But if you’re one of those people who meticulously cuts the streaks of fat from streaky bacon, have it your way.
The addition of butter might also be not to everyone’s approval but it’s not so much that bacon needs it to be fried. It’s more the wonderful sauce/juices/gravy that it makes in combination with the bacon fat and the maple syrup that joins the two in the pan.
Bacon out, maple syrup and banana slices or quarters in, and it will only take a minute or two for them to caramelise and the divine aroma to waft around. Return the bacon to the pan and you’re good to go.
Elvis sandwich
Yes, you can use the above in an Elvis Sandwich if you make yourself forget how that kind of diet ended for The King. But that would involve spreading the bread with peanut butter, using mashed banana instead of caramelised and then frying the whole sandwich.
Apart from the obvious exponentially higher nutritional hazard, it doesn’t sound appealing to me.
I like to pile my bacon and banana on a fresh or lightly toasted slice of sourdough bread and drizzle over with the juices. Not the healthiest either but eaten once in a while it won’t do you any harm.
More bacon recipes
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More breakfast recipes
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If you thought making an omelette for breakfast is too much effort, think again: the perfect cheese and mushroom omelette is ready in ten minutes or less.
A forgotten breakfast dish, kedgeree with smoked mackerel is certainly die a revival, and not only as a starter in hipster restaurants.