Watch video here.
Taro is one of my favourite root vegetables. It’s not as popular as other root vegetables but, in my opinion -it should be! In Hawaiian mythology, the sky god and his wife wanted to have children, and since their first born was still- born, they buried it in the earth and it became a Taro plant. The sky god had his second son, who was human, and so there were two siblings – the taro plant, and the human child. The moral of the story is that nature and humans are siblings of the same parents.
So, this mythological story goes to show that taro is regarded as sacred in Hawaiian culture, however; taro originated from South Asia. A lot of Asian recipes call for coconut milk and a myriad of spices, but this recipe is my mothers, and she is very traditional. She makes it typically Greek, by adding in fresh celery – which gives it a bold flavour, tomato sauce, salt and pepper. I love my mother’s recipe because It is so simple, delicious and most of all- it reminds me of my childhood. Coming home from school, there was nothing like the smell of Taro stew wafting through the air on a winters day. This is definitely thanks to the celery in this dish.
This is a nutritious meal that you can make for your family as it is high in vitamin A, C and E. It’s also easy to make because it is a one pot vegan meal. So, simply toss everything into a pot and cook on high heat!
Ingredients:
Olive oil
2 cups of tomato sauce.
1 onion chopped
1 L of water plus 2 cups
Sea salt to taste
1/2 tsp black pepper ( forgot to add this in the video)
1 tsp cinnamon ( yes, cinnamon. Just do it. 🙂 )
3 Three large taros chopped
A very large bunch of celery coarsely chopped
To a pot add in a generous amount of olive oil. Then go ahead and add in the chopped onion, along with the salt, pepper, and cinnamon. Cook this for about two or three minutes until onions are translucent and then add in the chopped Taro. Cook that for six minutes, then add in the chopped celery, tomato sauce, and water. Cook with the lid on high heat for 10 min, then cook without the lid for 40 more minutes or until the taro is tender when you put a fork through it.
Plate with rice and enjoy!
