Grilled banana barbeque sauce

This banana barbeque sauce has a little kick from cayenne, a sweet-spicy balance and my secret ingredient, barbecue-roasted garlic. Slather it on snags!

Credit: Watts on the Grill

• makes

  3

• prep

  15 minutes

• cook

  1:05 hour

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 3 bananas, unpeeled, sliced in half lengthwise
• 3 tsp olive oil + more for grill
• 1½ tbsp (30 ml) honey
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• Salt and fresh ground pepper
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp + 1 tsp (45 ml) tomato puree
• ¾ cup (180 ml) vegetable stock
• 1½ tbsp (30 ml) apple cider vinegar
• 3 cloves barbeque-roasted garlic (see Note)
• 3 tsp freshly grated ginger
• 1 tsp cumin
• ½ tsp cayenne
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ cup (60 ml) dark rum (optional)

Allow an extra hour to make the barbecue-roasted garlic used in this sauce, or make it in advance and store in the fridge until needed.

Instructions

1. Preheat grill to medium heat, 175-205°C (350-375°F). Brush grill with oil.

2. Mix together honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and black ground pepper in a small bowl.

3. Brush banana with oil and place on grill cut side down. Grill for 3 minutes.

4. Turn and brush cut side with the honey mixture. Grill with skin side down a further 5 minutes. Take off the grill and let cool.

5. To a saucepan, add 3 teaspoons of oil and sauté onion. Cook until onions are transparent. 

6. Add grilled bananas to the onions and mash.

7. Add tomato puree and vegetable stock and stir to incorporate. Add apple cider vinegar, barbeque-roasted garlic, ginger, cumin, cayenne and salt. Stir well to combine. (If using rum, stir in now).

8. Simmer for 45 minutes. Remove and allow to cool.

great served on Spencer Watts' spicy barbecue snags. 

Note

• To make Barbecue-roasted garlic, preheat a barbecue with a warming rack to medium heat.  Slice off the top of a head of garlic to expose the cloves inside. Set the head of garlic in the centre of a square of tinfoil (large enough to wrap the garlic), cut side up. Drizzle olive oil (about 1½ tablespoons) onto exposed cloves. Sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon salt. Close up the tinfoil over the garlic to create a package. Set on the warming rack and cook 45 minutes. Remove and let cool.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.