##Like all the best recipes, this one is a descendant of a little mistake by a shrewd cook who didn’t want to waste her seemingly spoilt ingredients. Back in the 1880s, in a hotel run by the Tatin sisters, one of the sisters accidentally burnt the apples for a pie she was making … but decided to use them by putting pastry over the top and baking the dish anyway. The result went down a treat and carved the Tatin sisters a place in culinary history.

For a variation of the theme, here we use our own interpretation of a Jamie Oliver recipe using bananas instead of apples. What really helps with making Tarte Tatin is a good, bottom-heavy round pan or an ovenproof frying pan. If you have the right tin, I’m sure you will agree that this recipe is one of the easiest things to make but at the same time a showstopper. It is a dessert that has a top place on the menu of La Ola Fresca and rivals our own Señor Brownie in fans!

Banana Tarte Tatin
Ingredients
• 60 gm (2 oz) butter
• 150 gm (5 oz) white sugar
• Zest of orange
• 5 bananas, peeled and sliced longways (with squeeze of lemon)
• Squeeze of orange
• 1 sheet of ready-made puff pastry
• Heavy-bottomed round tin 20 x 5cm (deep) or an ovenproof frying pan.

Preparation
Heat oven to 220C/ 425F / Gas mark 7.

Chop the butter into pieces and place with the sugar in your chosen tin on a gentle heat on the stove. Stir, allowing the butter to melt down and mix with the sugar.
Meanwhile, always keeping an eye on the caramel, peel and slice the bananas longways. Add a squeeze of lemon.

Now that all the butters and sugars have melted down, turn your full attention to the caramel and turn up the heat using a heat-resistant spoon, taking care not to burn yourself.
Do not exceed the point of caramelization. If it starts to smoke, it is going too far and the sugar will turn bitter.

When your caramel has reached a gorgeous molten-gold point, remove from the heat and add the zest of orange. Standing back a bit from the pan and being careful not to splash yourself with the caramel, gently add the sliced bananas, filling the base. Immediately top with the ready-made pastry.

Push the pastry down to fit snuggly over the bananas and leave an overlapping edge over the side of the tin. Cut off any excess pastry, place the Tatin dish on an oven tray and put it near the top of the pre-heated oven.

After about 15 minutes, if the pastry has risen nicely and is starting to brown, move to the next tray down in the oven and cook for a further 15-20 minutes until you are sure that the pastry is well cooked.

Remove from the oven and while the dish is still hot, quickly turn out onto a plate so that the bananas are now on top. If there is any caramel left in the pan, return it to the heat until the caramel releases sufficiently and then pour the juices over the bananas. Finally, give a little squeeze of orange juice over the top of the caramel.

Inhale and wait for your friends to come to worship!

LA OLA FRESCA
C/ Mùsico Magenti, 11

Tel:610 026 305
(For reservations)
Zona Benimaclet
http://www.laolafresca.com
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