This charming little recipe is taken from “La Cuisine Coloniale – 100 recettes d’Outre-Mer.” The one I’ve chosen is a popular one from the French Antilles (or French West Indies). I completed my due diligence by reaching out to my good friend Luc who, as some of my readers will remember, has helped give greater authenticity to several of my dishes including the ones from North Africa. I have teasingly referred to Luc as “Beau” Geste because I always had this image of him, as the last man standing, and manning the ramparts at Sidi bel Abbes. Anyway, I reached him at his little hideaway in St. Jean de Luz, in the Basque region of southern France; I explained my cooking theme and did he have any suggestions. There was pause on the other end of the line. I helf my breadth for a second, then he chuckled and began to tell me about the time he was stationed in Martinique having been dispatched to the islands by the French Ministre de la Defense. I’ve learned over time never to inquire too-too deeply into the reasons why Luc “just happened” to be here or there around the world. He told me about the time he met this native girl who was not only beautiful, (mon amis), she could cook like none other, better than even his wife, but “we can’t be excellent at everything we do, non?” I gently brought Luc back to the matter at hand, the dish please. “Ah yes, she made the best poulet aux bananes learned it from her mother, also very attractive.” I could just see the smirk on his face and let that drop. So there you go, how perfect for me, Luc came through with a recipe that I was initially thinking about choosing. I thanked Luc and told him I would be visiting soon.
Poulet aux Bananes – Chicken with Bananas
*Green bananas look very much like yellow bananas but are very different in several respects, most notably their flesh is firm and starchy tasting rather than soft and sweet like a yellow banana’s
Scald the tomatoes by plunging them into boiling water for a few seconds then peel them and dice them (concassez-les)
Set aside the chicken, remove the carcass and add back to the stock and reduce by rapidly boiling. You can skip that if you are already working with ready-made stock.
Now about those wines…
I believe you can have a white or a well balanced red and not risk having your guests shaking their heads, whispering in disbelief and eventually throwing down their napkin – enough is enough monsieur, you insult the dish and our culinary sensitivies. At which point you reach under the table and…lock and load. Maybe not, but we’ve all thought about it.
An Alsace Pinot Blanc Schlumberger “Les Princes Abbés” 2006, is a great wine to choose. Comte Lafon Mâcon 2008 white burgundy and the Chapoutier Crozes Hermitage La Petite Ruche Blanc 2009 would work famously.
For red wines, think fruity with tanins that are not out in left field that way the chicken taste like old shoe leather: Having said that, a Pessac–Leognan–Graves, from the left bank, Bordeaux. A Côtes-de-Bergerac from the Dordogne region pairs wonderfully and lastly, Domaine Bernard Gripa, 2001 St.-Joseph Rouge from the Côtes-du-Rhône region. As far as I’m concerned, you just can’t go wrong with a St. Jo!