Banana Pie - Mauritian Style (Tarte à la banane) | Vegan Recipe

ripe bananas

🥗Healthier: plantains

💰Cheaper: frozen bananas

Plantains provide a similar texture, while frozen bananas are often more affordable.

butter

🥗Healthier: coconut oil

💰Cheaper: margarine

Coconut oil offers a dairy-free alternative, while margarine is often less expensive.

sugar

🥗Healthier: honey

💰Cheaper: brown sugar

Honey adds natural sweetness, while brown sugar can be cheaper.

milk

🥗Healthier: almond milk

💰Cheaper: water + powdered milk

Almond milk is lower in calories, while the mixture is often more economical.

Prepare banana filling: Peel and slice the bananas.

Add sugar and mix well until sugar starts to melt.

Place in a thick bottom pan and cook over medium for about 20 minutes.

Mash and stir bananas occasionally.

Then add about 1/2 cup water and stir well.

Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

To make the dough: Place flour in a bowl. Add salt.

Cut margarine into small pieces and fold into flour. Keep cutting and folding until margarine are small and well mix. Then work the mixture between the fingers by rubbing in and lifting the flour. Mixture should resemble fine breadcrumbs.

Add water and knead to form a nice and smooth dough. The dough should not be sticky and the inside should look like the texture of the inside of bread. Divide roughly into 1/3 and 2/3 portions.

Refrigerate for 1/2 hour.

Prepare the crust for pre-baking: Preheat oven at 180 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit).

Take out the larger dough and spread out to 4 mm thickness and large enough to fit into a 28-cm pie mould.

Transfer dough into mould by loosely rolling it around the rolling pin then unroll into the mould.

To work the fluted edge, take a piece of dough and dip into some flour. Press into the fluted edge to shape it.

Line the dough with baking paper and place some dry beans onto it. (I am using mung beans, but any dry beans will do, even rice). This is only to prevent the dough from rising or forming bubbles during the pre-baking.

Bake for 15 minutes.

Make the strips for the lattice top: Meanwhile, prepare the strips for the lattice top.

Take the other portion of dough and roll out to approximately 30 cm diameter.

Cut strips of 1cm width.

Fill and make the pie: Remove crust (after 15 minutes) from the oven.

Save the beans for later use in other pie baking recipes. These beans can be used a few times.

Fill the crust with the banana paste, even out.

Make the lattice top: Take the longest strip and line it in the middle. Press to secure on one side only.

Take every other strip and line a little distance apart.

Then, lift and pull back alternating strips.

Place one strip across (to make a criss-cross pattern).

Fold back the strips.

Then lift alternating ones (i.e. the strips that are now under) and place another strip across.

Continue in this way of alternating each row until lattice is complete.

Trim off excess strip length.

Brush with some non-dairy (I used oats milk) milk.

Place in oven and bake for 45 minutes or until crust is golden.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level:

Dietary

Allergens