Making Banana Cream
Pie, grilled shrimp and scallops with spicy pesto, lemon risotto
Down the shore last summer, I volunteered to cook one Friday
evening for my aunt, my uncle, my girlfriend and myself. I had wanted to try my
hand at risotto, and I figured that this would be the perfect opportunity to
give it a go. To go along with the lemon risotto, I planned on grilling some
shrimp and some scallops and making a spicy pesto to go along with them for
dipping. I decided to make a pie for dessert, a Latin twist on an American
classic, a dulce de leche banana cream pie.
I wanted to keep the shrimp and scallops simple in terms of
seasoning, and just make sure that I gave them really nice grill marks. They
cook up quickly so I preheated the grill to high heat and cooked them for 2 to
3 minutes on each side after I had seasoned them with some salt, pepper, olive
oil, and old bay seasoning. As you can see they turned out great and allowed me
to focus much more of my time on my first attempt at risotto. The sauce that I
made for the fish can be seen in the recipe below.
I was really excited to tackle the task of risotto because
it has always been something that seemed like a gargantuan task for an amateur
cook like myself. After cooking it and having an awesome result, I have to say
that it wasn’t as hard as it was made to be. It is labor intensive for sure,
but if you do it correctly and give it the time it needs to cook, the result is
a deliciously creamy heaven of taste in each and every bite. I made a lemon
risotto that was a really nice accompaniment to the shrimp and scallops. I have
posted the recipe below so you can make the lemon risotto for yourself.
The pie was much more labor intensive than it needed to be
because I couldn’t find dulce de leche in a can at the store, so I made it from
scratch. It took about 45 minutes of constant stirring, but it really turned
out amazingly delicious. It was a key element in the pie, along with the
scratch made crust of graham crackers and peanuts. It came together nicely and
required no baking, so it’s a really easy pie to make if you don’t make the
dulce de leche from scratch. The taste is phenomenal, so give it a try next
time you need a good pie for dessert. The recipe is listed below.
I really enjoyed cooking this meal, and I really like it
when I can cook something that gets people to say without a hesitation how good
it tastes. Bringing joy to people through food is something that I really
enjoy, and it might be something I need to pursue a little further in the
future! Cheers!
Jalapeno Pesto:
1 1/2 cups cilantro leaves
4 jalapenos, grilled and chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons pine nuts
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Combine cilantro, jalapeno, garlic, pine nuts, salt and pepper in a food
processor and process until coarsely chopped. With the motor running, slowly
add the oil and process until emulsified. Scrape into a bowl.
Lemon Risotto:
2 shallots
1 rib celery
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/3 cups risotto rice, preferably Arborio or Vialone Nano
Approximately 1 quart vegetable stock
1/2 unwaxed lemon, zested and juiced
Needles from 2 small sprigs fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 egg yolk
4 tablespoons grated Parmesan, plus more, for garnish
4 tablespoons heavy cream
Good grating black pepper, preferably white
Maldon or other sea salt, to taste
Directions
Put the shallots and celery into a mini food processor and blitz until they are
finely chopped. Heat half the butter, the oil and the shallot and celery
mixture in a wide saucepan, and cook to soften the mixture for about 5 minutes,
making sure it doesn't stick. Mix in the rice, stirring to give it a good
coating of oil and butter. Meanwhile, heat the stock in another saucepan and
keep it at the simmering point.
Put a ladleful of the stock into the rice and keep stirring until the stock is
absorbed. Then add another ladleful and stir again. Continue doing this until
the rice is al dente. You may not need all of the stock, equally, you may need
to add hot water from the kettle.
Mix the lemon zest and the rosemary into the risotto, and in a small bowl beat
the egg yolk, lemon juice, Parmesan, cream and pepper.
When the risotto is ready - when the rice is no longer chalky, but still has
some bite - take it off the heat and add the bowl of eggy, lemony mixture, and
the remaining butter and salt, to taste. Serve with more Parmesan if you wish,
check the seasoning and dive in.
Crust:
1 (5-ounce) package graham crackers
1/2 cup roasted, unsalted peanuts, plus 1/2 cup chopped, for garnish
1/8 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
Cream Filling:
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup store-bought dulce de leche (recommended: Nestle La Lechera Dulce de Leche),
plus extra for decorating
3 medium bananas, sliced
Directions
For the crust: Place the Maria crackers in the bowl of a food processor and
process until coarsely ground. Add the peanuts and salt to the crumb mixture
and process until finely ground. Add the melted butter and pulse until
combined. Transfer the crust mixture into a 9 1/2-inch diameter glass pie dish,
pressing and forming the crust evenly across the bottom and up the sides.
Refrigerate for 10 to 20 minutes to solidify the butter.
For the cream filling: Using a hand-held mixer, whip the cream cheese and
butter at medium speed until fluffy with minimal lumps. Add the powdered sugar
and cinnamon, whipping at low speed until just combined and being careful not
to curdle the butter. Add the cream and whip to soft peaks.
To assemble the pie: Spread the dulce de leche on top of the chilled crust. Top
with the sliced bananas, forming 2 layers if necessary. Pour the whipped cream
on top and spread evenly to completely cover the banana layer. Refrigerate and
chill until set, about 2 hours.
To serve, top the pie with a 1-inch border of the remaining chopped peanuts.
Warm the remaining dulce de leche in the microwave or on the stovetop until
melted. Drizzle the dulce de leche on top of the pie and serve.
