Tahini Banana Bread (V)

We’re heading straight into Banana Bread Season. Banana Bread is one of the great heroes of the early Pandemic Period. You know the scene well, late winter, and everyone was literally watching their bananas decompose in real time. What to do but make banana bread? Old habits and great recipes die hard, so banana bread’s iconic status remains.

This one is pretty basic in assemblage, the real star is the tahini which is subtle in flavor, but adds so much rich cakey texture to this stalwart baked recipe. You can amplify the nutty tahini flavor by adding a teaspoon of sesame oil in with the regular baking oil. And if you’re really a sesamanic sprinkle 2-3 tbsp across the surface of the banana loaf. I add chocolate chips, because why wouldn’t you? I use the Vegan kind, to keep this recipe completely vegan, but do you..caramel/butterscotch chips might be an interesting addition?

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon your-favorite warming spice: I like cinnamon and cardamom

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tsp. baking soda

3 ripe mushy bananas

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup oil + 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil (optional)

1/4 cup tahini paste (I like the squeezable)

1/2 cup (or more) choc chips

Preheat oven to 350F, grease loaf pan.

Combine flour+cinnamon+salt+baking powder in a small bowl.

In a big bowl mash the bananas with the vanilla extract. Add sugars, oil, and tahini and fold together.

Once a smooth batter emerges add flour mixture to the bananas, and mix and combine until thick and smooth.

Fold in chocolate chips, if using, spread in prepared pan. Bake for 45-55 minutes, subjecting it to the toothpick taste to determine done-ness.