Quickly roasting the bananas makes them extra soft and intensifies their flavor and sweetness, which also allows you to skip any additional sugar in the batter for these waffles. Moreover, roasting the bananas in butter means you get melted, ever-so-slightly browned butter in your batter. Flavor, flavor, flavor! Note that the amount of waffles this batter makes depends entirely on the size of your waffle maker and the amount of batter you put in it. With the inexpensive machine I’ve depended on for about a decade, I get four medium waffles, each quite thick. If Grace and I are very hungry, we can each put two away (and possibly take a nap afterward). If we’re not super hungry, and especially if we have the waffles with a side of sausage or fruit or something, one is good. Last note: Peanut butter is also a great thing to spread on these!
Before you get to cooking, get to know the author! According to Julia Turshen, “delicious food does not have to be complicated.” Watch the interview below, and check out the full Q&A here.
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Recipe: Roasted Banana and Sour Cream Waffles
Makes four 6-inch [15-cm] waffles
Ingredients:
- 3 bananas, peeled (2 broken into large pieces for the batter, 1 sliced for serving)
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup [240 g] sour cream, plus more for serving
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1⁄8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 cup [140 g] whole wheat flour
- Cooking spray (my preference is olive oil spray, but use whatever you have)
- Maple syrup, for serving
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 400°F [200°C].
Place the 2 bananas broken into large pieces and the butter in a small baking dish and roast until the bananas and butter are a little bit browned and the bananas are very soft when you press them with a fork, about 15 minutes.
Turn the oven down to 250°F [120°C] and heat your waffle iron to its highest setting.
Using a fork or a potato masher, crush the bananas directly in their baking dish with the butter.
Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and whisk in the eggs and the sour cream. Whisk in the baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and cloves. Stir in the whole wheat flour. Be careful not to overmix — just stir it until everything is combined.
Spray your waffle iron with cooking spray. Add enough batter to your waffle iron to cover most
of the surface area (the exact amount will depend on the size of your waffle iron). Close the waffle iron and cook the waffle until the iron has stopped steaming and the waffle is golden brown and crisp, about 4 minutes, but the exact timing will depend on the heat of your waffle iron and the size of your waffle. Transfer the waffle to a sheet pan and keep it warm in the 250°F [120°C] oven while you repeat the process with the rest of your batter (spray in between waffles as needed).
Serve the waffles warm with the sliced banana, extra sour cream, and maple syrup.
