Roasted Banana Pudding

Preheat oven to 325 F. Roast bananas (still in the peel) on a parchment paper-lined sheet pan for about 20 minutes (the skins will turn completely black). Remove pan from oven. Cool for 5 minutes.

In a medium bowl, combine 1/2 cup sugar with the egg yolks and cornstarch until smooth; set aside.

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the half-and-half, remaining cup of sugar, and salt to a simmer. Whisk about 1/2 cup of the hot half-and-half mixture into the egg yolk mixture; whisk well to combine. Pour the egg yolk mixture into the saucepan to combine with the remaining half-and-half mixture. Cook, whisking constantly, until mixture thickens and starts to bubble. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla and lemon juice.

Pour the thickened pudding base into a large food processor and add the peeled roasted bananas. Process until smooth. Pour mixture into your preferred size of serving dishes and cover with plastic wrap being sure the plastic wrap touches the pudding surface. Put the dishes into the refrigerator and allow pudding to chill completely. Garnish as desired (I used Cool Whip and a Nilla Wafer) just before serving.

Recipe adapted from The Complete Cook’s Country TV Show Cookbook.