Taro (Colocasia esculenta var. antiquorum), is a member of the Aracea family which includes such well known plants as philodendrons, dieffenbachia (dumb cane), anthuriums, pothos, caladiums and alocasia, to name just a few.
Its one of the oldest crops known to man and has been cultivated for thousands of years. It can be found in most tropical and subtropical areas of the world. Taro, or kalo, as it was known to early Hawaiians, achieved primacy in the Hawaiian Islands as the most important crop and was produced in a large number of cultivated varieties. Variations of taro grow in the Caribbean islands. Those of us who lived in Cuba knew them as malanga, ñame and guagui.
The most popular form of preparing taro in Hawaii is poi. On its own, poi is very bland, but complements the tastes of other, richer foods.
The following recipe is one I developed to serve as a side dish I took for a potluck during Thanksgiving about 12 years ago when we were invited to the home of friends. Several people were quite skeptical but decided to be brave enough to try it. I was quite pleased when everyone liked it!
Later, this recipe was incorporated into several menus as part of the cooking classes when we owned the B&B and cooking school at Akaka Falls Inn.
The orange bits and tangy blue cheese make a nice contrast to the smooth taste of poi. If available, I prefer to use an island produced blue goat cheese, but will resort to a good quality imported blue if the local is not available.
Preheat oven to 300 F
Slice enough of each end of the oranges so they can sit level on the plate, being careful to not cut into the orange itself so the filling will not seep out when baking. Cut each orange in half. Using a curved, serrated knife (grapefruit knife), remove all the pulp from the orange halves leaving a hollow shell. Reserve pulp and juices in a bowl.
Place poi, soy sauce and cheese in a bowl and mix well. Remove the membrane from between the orange sections, being careful to leave enough pulp in solid pieces and add pulp and some juice to the poi mix. Don't add all of the juices at one time as you don't want it to turn too soupy.
Fill orange halves with the poi mix, place on baking sheet and slide into oven just long enough to warm all the way through and give some of the cheese a chance to meld into the poi, about 10 minutes or so.
Place on serving tray. Each filled half can be decorated with edible flowers and a sprig of parsley or watercress.
Yields 8 servings
