Words: Ali Tufan Koc | Illustration: Martin Justesen

There just so happens to be a single dessert that encapsulates an entire city’s culture. Hot and drunk, a sweet and mildly tart, Bananas Foster is the dessert manifestation of New Orleans. Just a small bite will convince you that they both carry the same sweetness and drunkenness. Bananas flambéd in rum, flames shooting high from the pan in front of restaurant guests might sound cheesy and cheap, but this is New Orleans we are talking about. Only in New Orleans,  can flambéing become a bittersweet poetic tribute to the culinary history of the city. The story of how this dish came to be is recounted in Miss Ella of Commander's Palace, a new memoir by New Orleans restaurateur Ella Brennan:

“At the time Owen Brennan, Ralph Brennan's uncle, owned Brennan's Restaurant, and his sister Ella managed it. Owen told Ella to come up with a special new dessert for a dinner that night in honor of the New Orleans Crime Commission chairman, Richard Foster. ‘Damn you, Owen,’ Ella replied. Feeling a mixture of frustration and panic, she dashed into the kitchen. "While fussing and carrying on, she just grabs the bananas," explains her daughter Ti Adelaide Martin, now co-owner of Commander's Palace, also in New Orleans. "[They] were probably just sitting right there, readily available." Ella decided to sauté them, remembering a dish of caramelized bananas that her mother often made for breakfast. She was also inspired by the popular baked Alaska dessert at a rival restaurant and thought, "Why don't we flame it like Antoine's?" says Martin. The newly christened "Bananas Foster" was a huge hit at dinner that night.”

Miss Ella’s Famous Bananas Foster Recipe

SINGLE BATCH (SERVES 2-4)

1 ounce butter

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 oz banana liqueur

1 1/2 oz aged rum

1/2 banana per customer

METHOD

Combine butter, sugar, and cinnamon in a flambé pan. As the butter melts under medium heat, add the banana liqueur and stir to combine. As the sauce starts to cook, peel and add the bananas to the pan. Cook the bananas until they begin to soften (about 1-2 minutes). Tilt back the pan to slightly heat the far edge. Once hot carefully add the rum, and tilt the pan toward the flame, to ignite the rum. Stir the sauce to ensure that all of the alcohol cooks out. Serve cooked bananas over ice cream and top with the sauce in the pan.