Friday, February 1, 2013

Mauritian Banana Tart for February 1st



When I was in tenth grade, I had to complete a social studies project on an island I had never heard of before--Mauritius. Light green palm trees leaves graced the pamphlet I would later receive by mail. Because there was no internet at the time, that would be all the extra information I would get, other than short accounts in encyclopedias at the library.
Now, however, thanks to the internet, anyone can find travel packages and tourist attractions galore. (See
http://mauritiusattractions.com/mauritius-attractions-c-24.html )  Mauritius is more than a few palm trees; this is proven by the fact that it won a Travelers' Choice Award for 2012. It has tea plantations, French chateaus, colonial houses, safaris to see zebras/lions/cheetahs/tigers, giant tortoises, rum breweries, salt basins, and a sugar museum.
The following video shows waterlilies that are larger than baseball bases, pencil thin waterfalls on steep cliffs, as well as mountains that look like Mexican hats or brown goblins: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0KFH15Tn-U
But now let's get to the recipe section. I found and made a wholesome tart that is mostly freshly cooked fruit.

Festivities in Mauritius
Mauritians hold the spiritual Cavadee Festival at the end of January and the beginning of February. The indians of Tamil origin place needles in their body and carry an ark on their back.
On February 1st, the abolition of slavery that took place in 1835 is conmemorated every year. The Dutch first took people from Madagascar and the East Indies to develop the island, during the 17th and 18th century.

Recipe from http://inspiredtobake.wordpress.com/2010/03/04/tarte-a-la-banane-recette-mauricienne/
Crust
2 cups flour
175 g butter
Filling
2 cups banana puree
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract


To make the crust, mix all the ingredients for it together and roll into a ball. Roll out the dough and cut into one-inch strips.

I painstakingly placed the strips on one by one. However, now I purchased a nordicware mini pie pan that allows you to cut the lattice all at once!







Reference
http://inspiredtobake.wordpress.com/2010/03/04/tarte-a-la-banane-recette-mauricienne/
Video: http://www.sbs.com.au/food/recipe/150/Banana-tart/
http://globaltableadventure.com/category/recipes-by-category/favorites/mr-pickys-favorite-recipes/

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krHmNb-evdc

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