As part of our mission to reduce food waste, we found a really clever way to use up banana skins for cooking - our banana skin curry.
We've used ripe (but not overly browned) banana skins and brined them in a turmeric and salt-water solution which gives them a similar texture to fine green beans.
We’ve also used tinned potatoes here as it’s more cost and energy efficient than boiling fresh for such a small quantity, but you could of course cook your own fresh – you’ll need about 175g if you do so.
Serve with fluffy steamed rice and crushed salted peanuts for a lovely crunchy topping.
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
Yields:
2 serving(s)
Prep Time:
25 mins
Cook Time:
35 mins
Total Time:
1 hr
Cal/Serv:
700
Ingredients
For the brine
2 large, firm banana skins, about 175g, see intro
2tsp.
turmeric
For the curry paste
2
garlic cloves
4cm piece fresh root ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
3
green finger chillies, deseeded if you prefer
1
lemongrass stalk, trimmed and roughly chopped
2tsp.
coriander seeds
finely grated zest 1 lime, plus juice to taste, keep separate
handful coriander, leaves and stalks separated
1
onion, halved
To assemble
1Tbsp.
coconut oil
400ml
tin full-fat coconut milk
2tsp.
caster sugar
300g
tin cooked new potatoes, drained and halved
75g
baby plum tomatoes, halved, see GH TIP
25g
salted peanuts, plus extra, optional, to serve
Directions
Step 1For the brine, trim and discard the banana skin bases and stems. Slice the skins into 5mm-wide slices, about 4-5cm long. Put into a bowl and mix in the turmeric and 1/2tsp salt. Just-cover with cold water and chill for at least 30min (up to 4 days).
Step 2For the curry paste, in the small bowl of a food processor (see GH TIP) whizz the garlic, ginger, chillies, lemongrass, coriander seeds, lime zest, coriander stalks, 1/2 the onion, 1tbsp water and a large pinch of salt to make a coarse paste. Finely slice the remaining onion.
Step 3To assemble, heat the oil in a large, deep frying pan or wok over high heat. Drain the banana skins and pat dry with kitchen paper. Fry the sliced onion and banana skins for 5min, or until the onion is slightly softened. Push mixture to 1 side of the pan.
Step 4Reduce heat to low-medium, add the curry paste to the empty side of the pan and cook for 3-4min, stirring occasionally, until aromatic and slightly darker in colour. Add the coconut milk and mix everything to combine. Simmer gently for 15-20min, stirring occasionally, or until the banana skins are tender and the sauce reduced.
Step 5Stir in the sugar, potatoes, tomatoes and peanuts and simmer for 5min, to heat through. Stir in the coriander leaves and season to taste with salt and lime juice. Serve with rice, if you like.
GH TIP
You could make the curry paste using a pestle and mortar, if you prefer, in which case leave out the water.
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
