A Query about Banana Peel in Mexican Cooking
And one from Karen Howe.
“In a Mexican manuscript cookbook dated 1908 which I bought at a flea market in Mexico, I found a recipe for banana peel stew. The fruit was not used, only the peel, which was chopped up and fried in lard and then ground up with cloves and cinnamon. Other ingredients in the stew include tomatoes, onions, garlic, beef stock, wine, raisins, almonds, chiles, fried bread crumbs, oregano and parsley. I have never heard of this before and wonder if you have any idea where the dish originated.
The 90- page manuscript, which is charmingly chatty and enthusiastic and full of misspellings, contains recipes for a variety of moles and other traditional Mexican dishes.”
Lucky you. I wish I ran into manuscript cookbooks in Mexican flea markets. What is the Spanish for the stew? Guisado? Is the banana called simply platano or platano macho (plantain, which I assume it is). And how is the peel identified. Is it fresh or dried or is that not specified?
I’ve never heard of banana peel being used this way but I will ask those who are more expert than I am. Or perhaps a reader has run across such a recipe.
The peel appears to be a thickener along with the almonds and the breadcrumbs, but I wonder why. Flavor? Economy? The rest of the recipe appears to be fairly standard. As to provenance of the recipe (if not the recipe book), the hot country of the Gulf coast, I’d guess.
Love these mysteries.
Thank you for your help with this mystery! The recipe in question is entitled “Guisado de cascara de platano largo.” As for the preparation of the peel, the writer only says: “Se lava bien la cascara de platano, se seca y se frie en manteca, que quede osura pero que no se quema, se muele con clavo y canela.” I am not sure if “se seca” refers to just drying the peel after washing, or actually drying it completely like a chile. I feel sure that the peel only is used here, because the book also contains several mole recipes using platano, one specifying that both the fruit and the peel are used, and another using only the fruit.
Sounds to me like it’s simply drying after washing. And sounds like platano macho. And the other thought I have had is that for whatever reason peel was used, it was obviously not economy. Not with all those other expensive ingredients.
Looking about the internet I came across several recipes that specifically mention the use of banana skins in Mole, so I guess it is a reasonably widespread practice. Also came across plenty of banana peel raita recipes, which sounds interesting.
Fascinating. I have not had time to look. I’ve always thought of banana peel as either tough if it’s thin or fibrous if it’s thick. And I’ve never actually tasted it. There are so many kinds of bananas that some may have delicious skin.
As a kid I would taste everything unless I was told it was poison (haven’t changed much as an adult) and the skin of the bright yellow “Chiquita Bananas” that we got in southern Idaho tasted bitter and made fur on my tongue and cheeks — similar to unripe persimmons.