Don't Trash the Overripe Bananas!

Ripe bananas bruise easily and therefore they are picked and shipped green. Before going on sale they are artificially ripened with ethylene or acetylene gas (no kidding!). Sometimes they use too much gas and instead of lasting a few days at home they go overripe before one can eat them all. Not to worry, overripe bananas are just what you need for making delicious banana bread or banana fritters. Since banana fritters are easier to make than banana bread, that's the recipe I'm going to share.

Ingredients

Makes about eight 4 inch fritters:
Three overripe bananas
One cup all purpose flour
One cup cream of wheat
One tablespoon baking soda
One whole egg
1/4 cup milk
Nutmeg
Angostura bitters
Cinnamon
Salt
Olive oil for frying

Preparation

Break the egg into a mixing bowl. Add a bit of salt, grate a bit of nutmeg, add a dash or two of Angostura bitters and a bit of powdered cinnamon. Beat the eggs until smooth. Add the ripe bananas and pure them with a fork until you have a smooth mixture. A few lumps don't matter.

Sift the flour and the cream of wheat into a bowl. If you don't have cream of wheat use two cups of all purpose flour but the cream of wheat gives the banana fritters a nice texture. Add the baking soda. Mix well.

Add half the flour mixture to the bananas and stir until blended. Add more flour and continue blending until the flour is all used up and you have a fairly smooth batter. A few lumps don't matter. If the batter is too thick, stir in milk as needed.

Some people deep fry the banana fritters in hot oil. I prefer to fry them like pancakes over medium heat. Heat a skillet and add a teaspoon of oil. Spread the oil by tilting the pan round and round. Drop a spoonful of batter in the hot pan and spread it out a bit so it's about half an inch thick. After two or three minutes flip the banana fritter to brown the other side.

That's it! Those of you who don't have a sugar problem can sprinkle some powdered sugar with cinnamon or a bit of honey on the fritters.

Enjoy!

Denny Schlesinger

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