Roasted Banana Ice Cream and Low Fat to Boot

This isn't my recipe. It's from a new book on the horizon called The Perfect Scoop, by David Lebovitz. So, how'd I find out about it? From reading food blogs, of course (The Traveler's Lunchbox, to be exact)! Early in my blog reading, I heard about David Lebovitz and soon subscribed to his very entertaining blog.

David is an American in Paris (can you hear Gershwin's music trilling?), although he worked for 13 years at Chez Panisse in Berkeley. I talked a bit about the dinner we had last week at that restaurant, and I recall one of the waiters mentioning the favorite dessert there is whatever cobbler is on the menu. Interestingly, David Lebovitz just wrote up a blog posting about a new rendition of cobbler using polenta, click here, and he talks about his stint at Chez Panisse. And totally off the subject of food - I sent out (to a bunch of my friends) a link to his blog after reading his "take" on Europeans, the French, the Italians, and the Americans on the subject of B.O. It's also about the very American expression we hear everywhere, "Oh my God." His write up is LOL (that's cyberspeak for laugh out loud) funny. If you're interested, click here. If you read it, read the comments at the bottom - they're almost as funny as his blog posting.

How do you segue from body odor to ice cream. With difficulty, I think. But trudge on, I say. I tried this recipe from reading the blog, and once the book came out I ordered it for myself on Amazon for $16.47 (hardback). The book is chock full of very unusual combinations. Here's a sampling of ice creams, sorbets or granitas in the book: Sweet Potato Ice Cream with Maple-Glazed Pecans, Roquefort-Honey Ice Cream, Oatmeal Raisin Ice Cream, Malted Milk Ice Cream (one of his favorites, he says), Chocolate-Coconut Sorbet or Black Currant Tea Ice Cream. He also includes some cookie or bar recipes that he calls "vessels" for serving ice cream. And he adds in a few toppings like glazed or candied nuts or fruits.
After falling in love with Banana Gelato at Gelato Vero in San Diego (see previous post about this) I was certain I'd like this rendition. You roast the ripe bananas in the oven with brown sugar and butter, then scrape out every last bit from the pan, and mix with the milk base, chill, and freeze. The brown sugar comes through, and it has a very full, rounded flavor of the bananas. It disappeared in no time, although I did serve it to guests, so there wasn't much left after that. The best part is it's low in calories and fat - yes, really, just 4 g of fat per serving -see nutrition info just below the recipe.

Roasted Banana Ice Cream
Recipe By: David Lebovitz, The Perfect Scoop
Servings: 6
3 medium bananas -- ripe, peeled
1/3 cup brown sugar -- 70 grams
1 tablespoon butter -- cut into small pieces
1 1/2 cups whole milk -- (375ml)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice -- freshly-squeezed
1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat the oven to 400°. Slice the bananas into 1/2-inch pieces and toss them with the brown sugar and butter in a 2-quart baking dish. Bake for 40 minutes, stirring just once during baking, until the bananas are browned and cooked through. Scrape the bananas and the thick syrup in the dish into a blender or food processor (or a large bowl, if you're using an immersion blender). Add the milk, granulated sugar, vanilla, lemon juice and salt, and puree until smooth. Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze it in your ice cream machine according to the manufacturer's instructions (or freeze in a covered container, blending every couple of hours with an immersion blender until it becomes solid).
2. If the chilled mixture is too thick to pour into your machine, whisking will thin it out.

NOTES : This doesn't have a custard base, which means putting it together is a snap. The other benefit is that it doesn't actually contain any cream. Just that little bit of butter and some milk - that's all. But you'd never know it since it tastes as rich and creamy as any super-premium ice cream out there. But don't take my word for it - go make some yourself!

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 156 Calories; 4g Fat (23.2% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 29g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 13mg Cholesterol; 142mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 Fruit; 0 Non-Fat Milk; 1/2 Fat; 1 Other Carbohydrates.
Click on the title at the top for a copy of just the recipe.