As my husband and I adore cheese in almost all forms, we often order cheese plates at restaurants.  Recently, we sampled a cheese tray that had some sort of roasted banana on it.  The banana was served sliced in half lengthwise, still inside its peel.  Presented in this form, it had a wonderfully sweet taste and a creamy yet firm texture.

As I was planning this past Monday’s tapas menu, the roasted banana came to mind.  I thought it would accompany some baked brie, strawberries, and melba toast quite nicely.  However, I wasn’t sure how I would create my own roasted bananas.

Most of the recipes that I found for roasted bananas required using a grill.  Being winter in New Hampshire, I had no interest in standing outside in the cold and dark to prepare part of our meal.  I decided to try my hand at sauteing the bananas to see if it would produce a similar result.

Happily for my tapas partner and me, it did!  As the bananas were pan fried instead of grilled or roasted, they caramelized ever so slightly in the pan.  I considered sauteing the bananas until golden brown, but I did not want to lose all of the firmness of the banana.  With the sweetness and tenderness of this recipe, I think these bananas could be used as a topping for ice cream also.