62. Cook Islands

Ika mata (Cook Islands raw fish salad)
( SERVES 12 )

Amanda Laird

Photo by Babiche Martens

5.0 / 5 FROM 1

Makes 12 small bowls.

Ingredients

1 to taste	Salt
1 cup	Coconut cream
1 cup	Lemon, juice
1 kg	Fish, (firm)
1 to taste	Tabasco sauce
1	Red onion, finely diced
1	Red capsicum, finely diced
1	Yellow capsicum, finely diced
1	Spring onion, finely diced
1 cup	Coriander, finely chopped
1 cup	Mint, finely chopped
1 cup	Parsley, finely chopped

Directions

1. Cut the fish into small dice and put into a bowl. Tip over the lemon juice and stir. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2. Pour the fish and the juice into a colander and drain.
3. Return the fish to a clean bowl and add the coconut cream, salt and Tabasco. Taste and add more salt and Tabasco if desired.
4. Stir through the onion, capsicum and spring onion while reserving a little of each to garnish. Refrigerate before serving in small bowls. Garnish, adding optional torn fresh coriander leaves

RUKAU

Taro Leaves Cooked in Coconut Cream

INGREDIENTS  ·  1 kg fresh rukau (taro leaves) or spinach ·  Large onion finely chopped ·  2 (10 ounce) cans coconut cream ·  Salt to taste ·  1 (12 ounce) can corned beef, broken into pieces (optional) Serves 10 - 12 persons

DIRECTIONS Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) Clean rukau with a damp cloth or paper towel then chop them up  Make a layer of rukau leaves in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish Sprinkle with some of the onions; keep repeating layers of rukau and onions until you run out of rukau. Don't worry about how full the dish is because the rukau will shrink as it cooks Pour both cans of coconut cream over the dish and add salt to taste, pressing the leaves down with a spoon. Cover tightly with a lid or aluminum foil Bake in the preheated oven for 45 to 55 minutes, or until rukau has completely wilted and the coconut cream is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving Without the corned beef the dish is a vegetarian one but you can add the corned beef as part of the layers.

SAPU SOI

Sapu Soi is the Pacific Islands version of chop suey

INGREDIENTS ·  1 kg diced chicken (or any meat) ·  1 large onion diced ·  2 Tsp Garlic ·  2 cups mixed vegetables ·  4 Tbsp Dark Soy sauce ·  Vermicelli ·  Oil Serves 10 - 12  persons

DIRECTIONS Put vermicelli in a bowl and cover with hot water leaving to soak for 5 about minutes. Drain water and cut vermicelli into two inch long pieces Heat oil in a pot and add onions and garlic. Cook gently Add chicken and cook until brown, then add mixed vegetables and soy sauce Add chopped vermicelli and stir until all mixed Cover the pot and cook on a low heat for 10 minutes Moana-Roa Mahi Mahi Country: The Cook Islands Course: Main Makes: 2 servings  Ingredients: 7 ounces mahi mahi 2 cups coconut cream 1 cup cooked taro leaves* 2 cloves garlic 1 onion, diced Zest of 1 lemon 1 tbsp fresh ginger slivers Salt and pepper to taste Two green bananas Two taro roots, diced Vegetable oil Directions: Saute half of the onion with one garlic clove in a small amount of oil. When the onion is translucent, add the taro leaves (or spinach, which is what I used) and 1 cup of the coconut cream. Season with salt and pepper and simmer until the leaves are tender. (Taro leaves take some time to cook, while spinach will be ready pretty quickly). Add a squeeze of lemon and set aside, keeping warm. Saute the other half of the onion and the other garlic clove in a medium-sized pot. Meanwhile, rub the fish fillets with salt and pepper and add to the onion and garlic. Pour another cup of coconut cream into the pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until the fish is done (12 to 15 minutes). Heat a little more oil in a small pan and fry one tablespoon of slivered ginger with the lemon zest. Keep stirring to avoid burning the zest. When the ginger is crispy, remove from heat. Meanwhile, bring two large pots of water to a boil. Add the diced taro root to one pot and the green bananas to the other (leave the peels on the bananas). Boil the taro root until it is fork-tender, and the bananas until the skins start to split (they should also be tender). Let cool, then peel the bananas and slice. Spoon the taro leaves (or spinach) onto each serving plate. Place a piece of fish onto the leaves and then garnish with the fried ginger and lemon zest and some freshly-ground pepper. Surround the fish with the taro root and banana and serve. Poke 0.9 lbs/400 g very ripe bananas (as ripe as possible) 3/4 cups/1.8 dl water 2 tsp sugar 1/3 cup/0.8 dl soy milk or soy milk 2.5 oz/70 g arrowroot powder 1/3 cup/0.8 dl coconut milk Peel the bananas and mash them. Cook this mash together with the water “until purplish” (see notes). Remove from heat and let cool. Mix all the ingredients well. Pour the mixture into a greased baking dish (or individual ramekins) and bake at 190C/375F for 35 minutes, or until set and golden brown (I only baked for about 20 minutes). Let cool. Once cooled, cut into pieces and poke holes into them with a fork. Pour the coconut milk over it and let soak into it for a while before serving. Makes about 3-4 portions. papaya juice (Good Eats: Turkey Salad)