Banana & Sausage Bruschetta | An Interesting Taste from Italy's Past

This unusual, historical recipe was brought to our attention by Italian food historian Luca Cesari. Check out his new book about the history of pasta here!

Banana & Sausage Bruschetta Recipe

When Italy briefly held African colonies, a surplus of new food products (such as bananas) resulted in some fascinating culinary experiments. One of them was a bruschetta made with fried banana and pork sausage.

The taste is sure to be divisive, but if you're the kind of person who doesn't mind when some maple syrup gets on your bacon, then you might enjoy this sweet/meat combo!

Watch the Pasta Grammar video where we make this recipe here:

Serves 2-4.

For this recipe, you will need:

• 2 bananas

• 2 Italian sausages (we recommend sweet over spicy, if those are your options)

• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter

• 2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

• 4 small slices of bread

Peel the bananas and slice them into small discs. We recommend not cutting them too thin, otherwise they'll be a little more difficult to manage when cooking. With a paring knife, make a lengthwise incision down the length of each sausage, then fold them open so they lay flat like an open book.

Place the butter in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. When the butter has melted, add the banana slices. Fry the bananas, carefully flipping occasionally, until the slices are soft and beginning to brown and caramelize. Remove from the pan and set aside.

While the bananas fry, bring the olive oil up to medium heat in a separate pan. Place the flattened sausages in the pan and cook on both sides until browned. Remove from the pan and cut each piece in half so that you end up with four pieces that will fit conveniently on your bread.

Toast the bread slices, either in a toaster or on a hot pan. Cover each slice with fried banana (optionally you can spread the banana like a marmalade) and top the fruit with a piece of sausage.

Buon appetito!