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HERBSAINT
BROWN BUTTER BANANA TARTLET

Chef Donald Link presides over his tiny uptown restaurant, Herbsaint, named after the New Orleans liqueur. There, Creole and Cajun specialties take star turns on his menu; some recipes hail from the city and others from the country. His creativity extends to desserts such as Brown Butter Banana Tartlet, reflecting Louisiana’s fields of sugar cane. Chef Link’s southern Louisiana origins were burnished as sous chef to chef Susan Spicer at her restaurant, Bayona.

Yield: One 9-inch tartlet

12 ounces unsalted butter
1/4 vanilla bean, scraped
1 cinnamon stick, broken
6 large egg yolks
1 1/2 cups sugar
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 ripe bananas, sliced ¼ inch thick, divided (reserve half the slices to circle the top of the tart)

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the butter, vanilla bean, and cinnamon. Place over low heat and when the butter has melted, let simmer gently until the butter solids have turned brown (the darker, the better the flavor, but be very careful not to let it burn). Strain through a chine noir or other fine mesh strainer. In the bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together until fluffy and pale. Slowly drizzle in the butter, then fold in the flour. Cover and chill for several hours or overnight.

Once the pie shell has been baked, layer the bananas on the bottom of the shell and fill the tart to the top with the brown butter mixture poured over the bananas.

Pasta Frolla

7 ounces unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
2 large egg yolks
½ teaspoon best-quality vanilla
2 1/3 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar, and salt. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time, beating until the first is fully incorporated before adding the second, and scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla. Fold in the flour, mixing until just combined. Chill the dough for 20 minutes before rolling it out. (This step is crucial for handling such a fragile dough; otherwise it will fall apart. However, it is easily patched with small bits of pastry.)
On a floured surface, roll out into an 11-inch circle and very carefully place in a 9-inch tart pan (patch cracks and holes as necessary with the trimmings). Chill for 20 to 40 minutes, to prevent shrinking.
Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Once the dough is firm, bake it “blind” in a 350ºF oven with pie weights (pennies, beans or rice in an oven-bake bag). When the edges just start to turn golden, remove the pie weights and let bake 5 to 10 minutes longer, until the crust is a little dried out.