Oatmeal is a staple of weekday morning breakfasts at my house, but I still eat it on the weekends too. I just want to dress it up a bit, when I have some extra time. Thanks to the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs, I have a new favorite fancy topping for my oatmeal: Browned and crispy bananas, all cool and creamy inside.
The Ace Hotel in Palm Springs is a hipster establishment, with low beds and concrete floors, and an old Denny's converted into a round-the-clock eatery serving local food and Stumptown coffee. It was a lovely spot to spend a couple of days in the cool California winter sunshine. But after the real sunshine, the sunniest thing I found there was a dish of Irish oats with "torched" bananas.
This lovely breakfast had a banana sliced on top, then thinly sprinkled with sugar. The sugar was torched until crispy and brûléed — a little smoky and burnt tasting, and a lovely complement to the sweet, creamy banana underneath.
Brûléeing your oatmeal is such a simple way to dress it up. It gives it a special touch of sweetness and flavor and it is rather fun to wield a kitchen torch on a Saturday morning.
Making Brûléed Banana Oatmeal:
To do this in your own kitchen, slice a banana into thin rounds, and pat them as dry as possible. Lay them on top of a bowl of fresh oatmeal and sprinkle them with a light, thin layer of sugar. Use a kitchen torch to brown the sugar evenly and scorch the bananas just a bit. Let cool for a few minutes so the sugar sets and gets crisp. Serve hot.
(You can also put the bananas and oatmeal in a heat-proof bowl and broil them for a few minutes until crispy and browned.)
Do you ever do this? Ever brûlée your oatmeal or breakfast porridge?
Related: How To Make Crème Brûlée at Home: Without a Torch!
(Images: Faith Durand)
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Yum! Plow in SF serves their french toast with brûléed bananas on top, and I like it much more than the huge dollops of sweetened marscapone that some other brunch places serve with french toast. It's sweet without being overwhelming.
This is a great idea for oatmeal, too. I've been having oatmeal for breakfast lately and this is a good add-in to add to my rotation (which so far has been maple syrup, chopped dates, and walnuts).
This is my 5 year old's breakfast specialty - he serves it with candied bacon - obviously I supervise his use of the torch - but he is so proud of this breakfast. He also decided to add mango puree to the oatmeal cooking water - which is awesome. His other topping of choice - fresh pineapple sauteed in butter and brown sugar. yum.
This is my favorite way to eat oatmeal! Although, my way is decidedly less fancy. I just plop down a (ripe!) split banana and some walnuts or pecans in the pot I'll make the oatmeal in. The nuts toast, the bananas carmelize and once they are all finished, I move them into my breakfast bowl and get to preparing my oatmeal. The best part? The liquids I pour in for the oatmeal deglaze the pan and not a drop of that good stuff is wasted. Also, no added sugar :)
I usually grill up a banana for my oatmeal. Just slice and put in a pan. Turn once and add to oatmeal. With some brown sugar and walnuts it tastes just like a bowl of banana bread. I don't think I should be handling a brulee torch before I have my coffee.
Oh man, I want this right now. I love cooked bananas. Too bad I don't have any in the house. I'll have to pick some up tomorrow.