Showing posts with label taro. Show all posts
Showing posts with label taro. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Experimenting with Produce - Taro Tarts

Experimenting with Produce - Taro Tarts
Experimenting with Produce - Taro Tarts


Ever since I first googled what to do with taro and saw a bunch of tarts made from it, I knew at some point I was going to give that a go. So when I saw some taro for sale at the Nanna Shop, I bought a couple. One I made into the sauce for the vege meatballs, the other I reserved for making pies. Or  tarts. I’m not sure of the difference in terms of semantics, but I know calling them Taro Tarts tickles my fancy more than Taro Pies.

At it’s heart, this is a pumpkin pie, but made with taro puree instead of pumpkin. I kept the flavours simple, to see how the taro takes on being a dessert and I think that was a good move. It’s a subtle flavour, but quite unique. Whilst experimenting, I also used agave sugar. This sugar is very sweet, but in an almost floral way. The texture is like icing sugar, which would be a suitable substitute in the recipe.This is also a dairy-free pie (no cream), which means the taro puffs up and develops a fluffy, almost bread-like texture. The spring roll wrappers for pastry mean these tarts are best eaten the day they’re made, while the pastry is crisp. It goes chewy if you leave them.

Taro is a traditional Hawaiian tuber, I’m using Mexican sugar and Brazil nuts. So whilst this multinational tart sounds a bit geographically confused, they all get along!

Experimenting with Produce - Taro Tarts
Experimenting with Produce - Taro Tarts
Experimenting with Produce - Taro Tarts
Experimenting with Produce - Taro Tarts
Experimenting with Produce - Taro Tarts

Taro Tarts

1 ½ cups taro puree
3 large eggs
¾ cup agave sugar
½ tsp freshly grated ginger
12 Brazil nuts
12 spring roll wrappers
¼ cup coconut oil.

Preheat your oven to 170C

Melt the coconut oil until it’s a liquid. Take a spring roll wrapper and brush generously with coconut oil. Fold in half to make a rectangle. Brush again with coconut oil and fold in half again to make a square. Push into a muffin tin, folding the sides to make a pastry base. Repeat for all the muffin holes.

Blend the taro puree, eggs, agave sugar and ginger until smooth. Carefully pour the taro mixture into each of the bases. Gently tap the tin to remove air bubbles. Top each one with a Brazil nut.


Slide into the oven and bake for 25 minutes, checking for doneness at around 20mins. When the pastry is crisp and gold, and the filling has puffed up and set, they are ready. Allow 15 minutes to cool before eating. Or eat at room temperature. Best eaten the same day as the pastry goes chewy.

Experimenting with Produce - Taro Tarts
Experimenting with Produce - Taro Tarts
Experimenting with Produce - Taro Tarts
Experimenting with Produce - Taro Tarts
Experimenting with Produce - Taro Tarts

Sunday, July 12, 2015

Meatless Mondays - Asian Style Vegie 'Meatballs'

Meatless Mondays - Asian Style Vegie 'Meatballs' with Taro Avocado Sauce
Meatless Mondays - Asian Style Vegie 'Meatballs' with Taro Avocado Sauce

Lance isn't the easiest person to convince to eat vegetarian. Even though unless it's smoked, roasted and/or pulled...generally the meat portion of the meal isn't even his favourite part. Somehow the IDEA of vegetarian can be offensive. So I've learnt to serve vegetarian meals without bothering to mention the lack of meat. I don't actively seek to eat vegetarian, as I'm a fairly committed omnivore myself, but given I was recently made redundant, I figure a cheaper dish by omitting meat here and there is probably not a bad idea. On top of that, I'd forgotten to get any meat out to defrost! That's my most frequent reason for vegetarianism - lack of planning!

These veggie meatballs are one of those dishes that Lance really loves, even though he'll complain if I'm telling him we're having a vegetarian night. I don't know if it's the meatiness of the mushrooms, or maybe it's the format of the "meatballs" - but this is a good dish to serve those meat-addicts in your life. The ginger and chili add a nice flavour kick to the mushrooms and lentils - which tend to need a helping hand in terms of flavour. Just don't call them "rissoles" or that opens up a whole new kettle of prejudices!

I kept a vague Asian theme to the sauce by pureeing some taro with coconut milk, avocado and ponzu sauce to make a creamy counterbalance to the spicy meatballs. If you can't find ponzu sauce, a tablespoon (or two) of the mushroom oyster sauce also works well. As does replacing half a cup of coconut milk with stock. In fact, you can add an extra cup or two of stock and turn the sauce into a soup!

You can also make these as a large pattie and turn them into veggie burgers. Also, any leftover balls make excellent tacos!
Meatless Mondays - Asian Style Vegie 'Meatballs' with Taro Avocado Sauce
Meatless Mondays - Asian Style Vegie 'Meatballs' with Taro Avocado Sauce
Meatless Mondays - Asian Style Vegie 'Meatballs' with Taro Avocado Sauce
Meatless Mondays - Asian Style Vegie 'Meatballs' with Taro Avocado Sauce
Meatless Mondays - Asian Style Vegie 'Meatballs' with Taro Avocado Sauce


Asian Vegie Meatballs

1 tin lentils, rinsed and drained
4 tbsps plus 1tbsps olive oil
1 red onion, finely diced
2 carrots, finely diced
1 red capsicum, finely diced
1 garlic clove, minced
2 bunches coriander, roots/stems diced separately to leaves
1 thumb size piece ginger, peeled and finely grated
1 green chili, minced
1 red chili, half minced, half sliced into rings for garnish
4 tbsp mushroom oyster sauce (if you're not vegetarian, normal oyster sauce is fine)
250g Mushrooms, wiped clean and diced
2 eggs
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup finely chopped cashews



Heat 4 tbsps olive oil in a large pan to a medium heat and add the onions, carrots, capsicum, garlic, ginger and chilis. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring here and there until the vegetables soften. Add the mushrooms and coriander stems cook for a further 10 minutes, or until the mushrooms release their liquid and it is then reabsorbed. Stir through the oyster sauce and cook for 3 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and allow to come to room temperature.

When cooled, add the lentils to the vegetable mixture, then form a well in the centre of the bowl. Add the eggs, parmesan, breadcrumbs, cashews and coriander leaves and mix by hand until everything is evenly distributed. Place in the fridge for half an hour.


Preheat the oven to 175C


Rub the remaining olive oil over the base and walls of a baking dish. Leave the olive oil on your hands to help you with the rolling. Roll the now cold mixture into balls about the size of golf balls, or a little larger. Pack firmly so they hold their shape. Place the balls into the baking tray, packing so they're almost touching.


Pop in the oven for 30 minutes, or until firm and a bit crispy on top. Leave in the tray for 5 minutes to settle before removing, so they are less likely to fall apart. Serve with Taro Avocado sauce and rice.

Meatless Mondays - Asian Style Vegie 'Meatballs' with Taro Avocado Sauce



Taro Avocado Sauce


1 baby taro root (around the size of a fist)
2 avocados
4 tbsp ponzu sauce
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
water for thinning if required
quarter cup coriander leaves, roughly chopped
salt + pepper

Wash the taro root, then steam for 45 minutes, or until fork tender. Allow to cool enough to touch, then peel.Cut into chunks.

Add the taro, coconut milk and avocado to your blender, and mix until smooth. Add water if required to get to your desired consistency. Add the ponzu sauce and coriander leaves, blend to mix. Taste for seasoning.

If it's cooled too much, pour into a little saucepan and gently reheat when ready to serve.

(Can also be thinned with stock to make a Taro Avocado Soup!)

Meatless Mondays - Asian Style Vegie 'Meatballs' with Taro Avocado Sauce
Meatless Mondays - Asian Style Vegie 'Meatballs' with Taro Avocado Sauce

Monday, July 14, 2014

Produce Experimenting - Taro and Bacon Hash

Produce Experimenting - Taro and Bacon Hash

I bought a taro the other day. I saw it at the greengrocers and had never seen one before in the shops, so I got excited and bought one. Then realised I had absolutely zero idea of what I was supposed to do with it. I remember seeing it in recipes and on menus, but I couldn’t pick enough of a memory to know what to do with it. A quick google search indicated that as a tuber it can be cooked pretty much like a normal potato. But that it absolutely must be cooked to get rid of a chemical that has a toxicity that causes gout-like issues. Not a problem, I prefer my tubers cooked. It’s also used extensively to make desserts. Before I contemplate getting into taro desserts, I thought I’d cook one up in a more traditional-potato manner in order to get a feel for what it’s taste and texture is like. That also meant curries and stews were out.

So, that somewhat narrowed down what I was going to do with it. And it was another cold, rainy night which automatically lends itself to comfort food. I have said it before and I’ll say it again…I love breakfast. So breakfast for dinner is a pretty huge comfort food for me. Taro Hash with eggs it was. Add some bacon – because it’s bacon. And some ginger, pomegranate and chilli for a pop of brighter flavours and you have a pretty amazing dish.

Serve with some fresh parsley and sumac scattered over the perfect yolks. Then eat with hot sauce. The taro cooked this way developed a slightly chewy texture and it has a nutty, somewhat earthy flavour which worked really well. I’m thinking I might need to try some more taro recipes in the future. Have you tried taro before? What’s your favourite way of preparing it? Comment below or email me!
Produce Experimenting - Taro and Bacon Hash
Produce Experimenting - Taro and Bacon Hash
Produce Experimenting - Taro and Bacon Hash
Produce Experimenting - Taro and Bacon Hash
Produce Experimenting - Taro and Bacon Hash

Taro and Bacon Hash

(serves 2 big servings)
1 large taro, peeled and cut into 2cm dice
1 brown onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Generous grind salt and pepper
Thumb sized piece of ginger, peeled and grated
Juice of 2 limes
1 pomegranate, seeded
4 rashers eye bacon, diced
2/3 cup corn kernels
1 chilli, minced (or to taste)
4 eggs

Heat a tall-sided pan that can also go into the oven to medium heat and add a generous splash of olive oil. Stir in the onions and salt and pepper, and cook 10 minutes or so until caramelising and soft and sweet. Stir here and there to make sure it doesn’t catch. Add the minced garlic and bacon and stir through.

Heat the oven to 175C

When the bacon is starting to colour and render out it’s fat, add the grated ginger, chilli and lime juice. Stir through the taro and corn, coating it in the oniony-mixture. Pop the pan into the oven and cook for 20 minutes or until the taro is mostly cooked and softer. Stir through the pomegranate seeds, then carefully crack the eggs into each ‘quarter’ of the pan. Pop back in the oven for 10 minutes or until the egg is cooked to your liking. I like runny yolks!

Sprinkle with some fresh parsley and sumac. Eat, curled up on the couch watching your favourite show!


Produce Experimenting - Taro and Bacon Hash
Produce Experimenting - Taro and Bacon Hash
Produce Experimenting - Taro and Bacon Hash
Produce Experimenting - Taro and Bacon Hash