Contest

Enter Your Best Banana or Plantain Recipe

March 15, 2018

Our new recipe contest starts right now. Runs to kitchen, grabs apron, opens recipe box, disappears—poof—into a cloud of flour. But wait! First, we have to talk about the theme: bananas and plantains. We had a feeling you guys would go, ahem, bananas for this one. We also had a feeling it would offer ample opportunity for bad jokes puns. Isn’t this fun already?

Let’s talk shop. Here’s what we’re looking for:

  • Bananas or plantains (or both!) are the star. Submit recipes where one of these ingredients shines bright, even shimmers, even twinkles. Of course, this is the perfect opportunity for your best banana bread or crispiest fried plantains. But, we’re also looking for…
  • Out-of-the-box ideas. Recipes that make us go, Huh! Who would’ve thought? Sort of like banana jam or banana fritters—little different, totally delicious. Surprise us. Shock us! Banana peel pie? Okay, probably not. But, you catch our drift.
  • A range of ripeness. How ripe do you like your banana? Late January, this query caused some drama in our office. And by drama, we mean, our editorial table couldn’t stop talking about the pros/cons of green versus yellow versus freckled versus brown. Just like you have a preference, your recipe does, too. A cake that actually wants under-ripe ’nanas? We’re listening!
  • Sweet and savory. We’re expecting banana entries to lean toward the former, plantain entries toward the latter. That’s totally cool. Or, prove us wrong. Maybe there’s a savory banana bread we haven’t met—yet. Or, a plantain that dreams of becoming cake.

Now, what are you waiting for? Submit! First, make sure you’re signed in. From there, you have two options:

  • If you have a banana or plantain recipe already on the site, go to that recipe page, hit “Edit Recipe” (under the photo), scroll down, hit “Submit my recipe to a contest,” select the banana/plantain contest, then save.
  • If you want to add a new recipe, head to your own profile page, select “Recipes,” click “Add a Recipe,” upload it, hit “Submit my recipe to a contest,” select the banana/plantain contest, then save.

We are accepting entries until March 31. (Psst: Don't forget to check out our contest rules!) Best of luck and we can’t wait to see what you’ll come up with.

Shop the Story

How do you feel about our latest contest theme? What theme do you want to see next? Let us know in the comments!

See what other Food52 readers are saying.

  • witloof
    witloof
  • Mehwish Javaid
    Mehwish Javaid
  • juwu_eats
    juwu_eats
  • Greenstuff
    Greenstuff
  • Rachelwrites
    Rachelwrites
Emma was the food editor at Food52. She created the award-winning column, Big Little Recipes, and turned it into a cookbook in 2021. These days, she's a senior editor at Bon Appétit, leading digital cooking coverage. Say hello on Instagram at @emmalaperruque.

7 Comments

witloof March 21, 2018
One of my friends, who is Dominican/Puerto Rican, served me plantain bollitos, which were grated green plantains that were shaped into balls and boiled in a pot of beans. I experimented at home, seasoning them like matzo balls {parsley, grated onion, salt, pepper, and a little ginger and nutmeg} and they tasted surprisingly like my grandmother's kneidlach.
 
Mehwish J. March 17, 2018
Banana cake
Filled with a thickkk layer of buttercream, banana cake drizzled with brown sugar and butter sauce, topped with candied walnuts ('twas more of an accident that lent to crystallized brown sugar giving a sweet crunch to the walnuts).

It's been a madly popular cake among my people, brother's girlfriend also gifted me a beautiful clutch bag for making this for her, yay !
 
juwu_eats March 16, 2018
Green bananas fish stew.

Gotta get cooking to put together some pictures...
 
Greenstuff March 15, 2018
My savory banana recipe/story comes from the famed Troisgros family, on their menu in 1935, when bananas first became popular: Flatten, season, and flour sole fillets; sauté them in butter. Peel the bananas, slice them in half lengthwise, and sauté the them in butter as well. Section and dice half a lemon; sauté that in butter with the juice from the other half lemon. Place the sole fillet on a serving plate, top with a half banana, and garnish with the lemon. The Troisgros brothers suggested serving it with a Sancerre. I actually did make it once, and I can report that tastes have changed since 1935, but that the Sancerre was nice.
 
Emma L. March 15, 2018
Hi Chris—love that story! Sounds like a submission to me!
 
Greenstuff March 15, 2018
Ha! Maybe so!
 
Rachelwrites March 15, 2018
Love this theme!