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March 16, 2012

Puna 'Ulu Festival - Cooking Contest Recipe - 'Ulu and Codfish Salad

 

Kua O Ka Lā Public Charter School at Pū'āla'a on Red Road in Lower Puna
on the Island of Hawai'i was the host for a day of celebrating everything 'ulu on Saturday, March 3rd.

 
A part of the event was the Cooking Contest where every recipe required that 'ulu be the main ingredient.

 
The Cooking Contest Categories were, Appetizers, Entrée and Desserts.

Each entry was judged for:
Best Use of Breadfruit
Taste
Appearance/Presentation
Originality 
Healthiest Ingredients.
Puna BF CC - 'Ulu & Codfish Salad - Pi'ilani Chaves
 
 
This is the last winning recipe - Third Place Winner in the Appetizer Category: 
 

‘Ulu & Codfish Salad 

4 pounds mature green ‘ulu

2 pounds salted dried codfish

2 whole bulbs garlic – peeled, chopped or mashed

10 whole Hawaiian chile peppers

1/4 cup distilled white vinegar

1 pound margarine

1/2 cup olive oil

Italian parsley 

Wash and core ‘ulu.  Cut each 'ulu into six wedges.  Place in pot and cover with water.  Add codfish and six Hawaiian chile peppers and equivalent of one whole bulb of garlic.  Boil for 30 minutes then remove codfish and drain.  Continue cooking ‘ulu for 20 more minutes.  Remove ‘ulu from water and let cool.  Fry codfish in olive oil until golden brown.  Let cool.  When cool, debone and shred codfish.  Reserve olive oil. 

Clean and mince one whole bulb of garlic and the four remaining Hawaiian chile peppers.  Add the garlic and chile peppers to the reserved olive oil and cook for three minutes, then add one pound margarine and ¼ cup of vinegar to oil mixture.  Cook for five minutes then add codfish and Italian parsley.  Cut cooled ‘ulu into bite size pieces, mix with codfish mixture and serve. 

Notes: It is delicious for “Happy Hour” pupu.  I have tried to use this recipe with sweet potato and taro, however, this recipe was more delicious with the ‘ulu. 

YIELD: 24 servings 

Entry by Pi'ilani Chaves - Hilo 

Notes:

'ulu - Hawaiian name for breadfruit

Hawaiian chile peppers - tiny red hot little firecracker chiles 

 

To learn more about breadfruit, please visit the Breadfruit Institute site of the National Tropical Botanical Gardens,

For more articles and recipe from the Puna Breadfruit Festival, please visit the following links:

 

Posted at 07:09 AM in Celebrations, Festivals, Food and Drink, Food and Recipes, Island Happenings, Life in Hawaii | | 0 Comments

March 15, 2012

Puna 'Ulu Festival - Cooking Contest Recipe - 'Ulu Ice Cream

 

Kua O Ka Lā Public Charter School at Pū'āla'a on Red Road in Lower Puna
on the Island of Hawai'i was the host for a day of celebrating everything 'ulu on Saturday, March 3rd.
 
A part of the event was the Cooking Contest where every recipe required that 'ulu be the main ingredient.
 
The Cooking Contest Categories were, Appetizers, Entrée and Desserts.
 
Each entry was judged for: Best Use of Breadfruit; Taste; Appearance/Presentation, Originality and Healthiest Ingredients.
 
 
The following recipe won 3rd Place in the Desserts Category
 

  Puna BF CC - 'Ulu Ice Cream - Courtney Spalding-Mayer

‘Ulu Ice Cream

 

1 ‘ulu – in the ripening stage

1 can coconut milk

1/2 cup fresh squeezed citrus or to taste

1 Tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 clove, crushed – optional

1 Tablespoon vanilla

1/2 refined sugar or to taste

1/4 brown sugar or to taste

Sprinkle of salt

 

 

Find a breadfruit on the sweet side and ripening so it's nice and soft in places.  Cut in quarters and heat in oven at 350 for 20 minutes or so.

Scoop out the softest parts into a blender. Pour in a can of coconut milk. Add at least 1/2 cup of fresh squeezed citrus juice, lanee oranges have a nice flavor.


Add the vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and crushed clove, if using. It will make it spicy.

Add at least 1/2 cup refined sugar and 1/4 brown sugar and sweeten from there to taste and a sprinkle of salt.


Mix thoroughly in blender until nice and smooth.  Pour into an ice cream maker and you've got your 'Ulu Ice Cream in minutes! 

 

Entry by Courtney Spalding-Mayer, Nakada Farms, Kapoho

 

To learn more about breadfruit, please visit the Breadfruit Institute site of the National Tropical Botanical Gardens,

For more articles and recipe from the Puna Breadfruit Festival, please visit the following links:

 

 

Puna 'Ulu Festival - Cooking Contest Recipe - 'Aina Lasagna

 

More recipes to follow

 

Posted at 10:57 AM in Celebrations, Festivals, Food and Drink, Food and Recipes, Island Happenings, Life in Hawaii | | 0 Comments

March 14, 2012

Puna 'Ulu Festival - Cooking Contest Recipe - 'Aina Lasagna

 
Puna BF CC - Woven palm frond pole arrangement
 
Kua O Ka Lā Public Charter School at Pū'āla'a on Red Road in Lower Puna
on the Island of Hawai'i was the host for a day of celebrating everything 'ulu on Saturday, March 3rd. 
 
A part of the event was the Cooking Contest where every recipe required that 'ulu be the main ingredient.
 
The Cooking Contest Categories were, Appetizers, Entrée and Desserts.
Each entry was judged for: Best Use of Breadfruit; Taste; Appearance/Presentation, Originality and Healthiest Ingredients.
 
 
Puna BF CC - 'Ulu Lasagna - Celeste Aleah

 

The following recipe was the 3rd Place Winner in the Entrée Category
 

‘Aina Lasagna

1 small to medium ‘ulu

1 pound wild boar meat (or pork)
8 large taro leaves
1 medium onion
Meat of 2 coconuts
1/2 bunch cilantro
1 1/2 cups coconut water
2 Tablespoons palm oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Garnish: Sweet bell pepper slices or rings

Cook the boar meat in crock pot, preferably overnight for maximum tenderness with a little salt. Shred when cool. 

Peel and remove the core of ‘ulu. Slice it thinly with a mandoline or similar slicer. The ideal thickness is like a deli slice of cheese. Coat the ‘ulu slices thoroughly with palm oil and salt. 

Boil taro leaves whole in water for 20 minutes. Strain and allow cooling. Large mince/chop half the portion of taro leaves and set aside in mixing bowl. In a food processor add remaining steamed taro leaves, cilantro, coconut meat, onion, and salt and pepper. Blend thoroughly adding coconut water bit by bit until well blended. Add to minced taro leaves and stir until mixed. 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. 

Layer the taro mixture, ‘ulu, and boar meat in a baking pan, ending with taro mixture on top. For best results, do not layer more than 2 inches high. Garnish with sweet pepper rings or slices coated in palm oil on top. 

Cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake uncovered for 30-45 minutes more. 

Serves 8 

Entry by Celeste Aleah, Pahoa  

Notes:

'aina - land

'aina lasagna - lasagna 'of the land'

'ulu - Hawaiian word for breadfruit

 

 

 

Posted at 07:34 AM in Celebrations, Festivals, Food and Drink, Food and Recipes, Island Happenings, Life in Hawaii | | 0 Comments

March 12, 2012

The Puna 'Ulu Festival - Cooking Contest Recipe - 'Ulu Custard Pie

 

 
The recent Breadfruit Festival at the Kua O Ka Lā Public Charter School at Pū'āla'a on Red Road in Lower Puna on the Island of Hawai'i showcased this versatility of this fruit with a cooking contest. 
 
Recipes were entered in three categories:

Appetizers

Entrée

Desserts

 

Judging Criteria:

Best Use of Breadfruit

Taste

Appearance and Presentation

Originality

Healthy Ingredients 

  Puna BF CC - 'Ulu Custard Pie - Eno Gerard

The following pie was a second place winner in the Desserts Category


 
'Ulu Custard Pie
 

2 cups ripe raw ‘ulu

1 14 ounce can condensed milk

1 12 ounce can evaporated milk

1 cup milk – more or less to total 3 cups of milk when all combined

5 eggs

1/2 block cream cheese at room temperature

 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F 

Combine all ingredients at medium speed until well blended.  Pour into a 9 inch pie shell – your own favorite crust recipe or ready-made and bake at 435 degrees F for 15 minutes.  Lower temperature to 305 degrees for 45 minutes (more or less) 

Custard is done when edges are firm and center is soft but not wet.  

Pie may ‘puff up” when done, but will settle at rest.  Sprinkle with cinnamon if desired.

He ‘ono La!

 
Entry by Eno Gerard, Pana'ewa, Hilo
 
Notes:
'ulu - Hawaiian word for breadfruit
ono - delicious
  
 

To learn more about breadfruit, please visit the Breadfruit Institute site of the National Tropical Botanical Garden.

For more articles and recipes from the Puna Festival, please visit the following links:

 

More recipes to come!

 

Posted at 07:45 AM in Celebrations, Festivals, Food and Drink, Food and Recipes, Island Happenings, Life in Hawaii | | 0 Comments

March 11, 2012

The Puna 'Ulu Festival - Cooking Contest Recipe - 'Ulu Quiche with Ginger Chutney

The recent Breadfruit Festivals have shown how versatile the 'ulu can be.  From humble beginnings,  it can rise to the ocassion as a gourmet entrée and compete with the best!

The breadfruit, or 'ulu as it is known in Hawai'i, is an easy to grow, very handsome tree that provides many fruit suitable to be used for almost any recipe imaginable.  It can be steamed, boiled, roasted or baked whole; it can be used while still not completely mature as a starchy vegetable and after ripening it acquires a soft creamy and slightly sweet consistency.

When cut or peeled raw, the 'ulu secretes a sticky latex that can become gummy on your hands and knives or slicers.  For this reason some cooks prefer to steam, boil, roast or bake before using the fruit.  However, the recipe below calls for one raw 'ulu to be grated for the crust and the other steamed and soft for the filling.

Puna BF CC - 'Ulu Quiche - Kua O Ka La
The quiche was served on a glass pedestal cake plate.  It was  inverted on to the dish and sprinkled with edible flower petals.

 

'Ulu Quiche
with Ginger Chutney
 
2 medium sized 'ulu
1 cup of heavy cream
1/2 cup of yogurt
2 eggs
4 leeks, sliced thin
1 pound Ali'i Mushrooms from Hamakua Heritage Farm, sliced thin
Sea salt
1/4 butter 
1/2 pound mac nuts
 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Peel and core one of the 'ulu, grate it and set in a bowl.
Grind the mac nuts into a paste; combine with the butter and add it to the raw grated 'ulu.  Spread it evenly on a pie dish to form a crust and bake at 350 F for 20 minutes.
 
Steam the other 'ulu. Sauté the mushrooms and leeks
In a food processor, mix the 'ulu, yogurt and cream; blend until smooth; add your leeks and mushrooms, salt and any greeen you might have around; fill the pie crust and bake for 45 minutes.
Ginger Chutney
 
1 pound fresh ginger, peeled
1/2 cup sugarcane juice
1/4 cup sugar
5 large liliko'i
Lime zest
 
Slice the peeled ginger on a mandolin as thin as possible.
In a sauce pan mix sugar cane juice and sugar and the sliced ginger; bring to boil and start reducing.
 
Make a concentrate with the juice of 5 large liliko'i and add some lime zest
If the ginger needs more sugarcane juice add more, you want it to get translucent.
When there is no juice left add the liliko`i and turn off heat.  Slice very thinly, serve with the quiche and enjoy.
 
Entry by Kua O Ka La School, Pū‘āla‘a, Puna

To learn more about breadfruit, please visit the Breadfruit Institute site of the National Tropical Botanical Garden.

For more articles and recipes from the Puna Festival, please visit the following links:

The Revitalization of Breadfruit

The Puna 'Ulu Festival - Cooking Contest Recipe - BOS

The Puna 'Ulu Festival - Cooking Contest Recipe - Healthiest Choice

The Puna 'Ulu Festival - Cooking Contest Recipes - 'Ulu Chips and 'Ulu Dip

More recipes to come!

Posted at 07:14 AM in Celebrations, Festivals, Food and Drink, Food and Recipes, Island Happenings, Life in Hawaii | | 0 Comments

March 10, 2012

The Puna 'Ulu Festival - Cooking Contest Recipes - 'Ulu Chips and 'Ulu Dip

The recent Breadfruit Festival held at Kua O Ka Lā Public Charter School at Pū'āla'a on Red Road in Lower Puna on the Island of Hawai'i confirmed that recipes don't have to be difficult and involved to win prizes.
 
The following two recipes were entered in the Appetizer Category and were the first and second place winners respectively.
 
Judges were looking for:
Best use of breadfruit
 Taste
 Appearance/Presentation
 Originality
 Healthy ingredients
Puna BF CC - 'ulu Chips - Genji K.Nakada

 
 
'Ulu Chips
  
'Ulu
Canola oil
Alae salt
 
 
Pick mature but not ripe 'ulu for starch; a sweet or slightly sweet 'ulu will not cook right. 
 
Quarter 'ulu and remove core. Removing the skin is possible, but not necessary. 
 
Cut the 'ulu into very thin slices, 1/32" +/- with a mandoline.
 
Fry in 375 degree F oil for 6.5 minutes or until golden. Drain well then salt with very finely ground Alae salt, or kosher salt. Enjoy!
 
Entry by Genji K. Nakada, Hilo - First Place Winner in Appetizer Category
 
 
Puna BF CC - 'ulu Dip - Honey Burns - Pahoa

‘Ulu Dip

'Ulu
Red pimentos - chopped
Sour cream
Best Foods mayonnaise
Green onions - chopped
Garlic - minced or crushed
Lemon juice
Veggie salt
Kelp 

Steam, core, peel and mash ‘ulu.  Add all other ingredients until well incorporated and smooth. 

Serve with chips. 

Entry by Honey Burns, Pahoa - Second Place Winner in Appetizer Category 

 
Notes:
'ulu - Hawaiian word for breadfruit
mandoline - kitchen utensil used for slicing and cutting julienne; not to be confused with mandolin, a string instrument
Alae salt - and unrefined Hawaiian sea salt distinguished by the pinkish-brown color of iron oxide found in Hawaiian clay
Best Foods Mayonnaise aka Hellmans Mayo East of the Mississippi
 
 
For more information and recipes from the Puna Breadfruit Festival, please check the links below:

More recipes to come!

 

Posted at 05:50 AM in Celebrations, Festivals, Food and Drink, Food and Recipes, Island Happenings, Life in Hawaii | | 0 Comments

March 07, 2012

The Puna 'Ulu Festival - Cooking Contest Recipe - Healthiest Choice

Brought to the islands as a "canoe plant" by the early Polynesian voyagers, the breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) was an important food source for early Hawaiians; however it lost favor in the last couple of hundred years as new immigrants arrived to the islands bringing their own potatoes and rice.
Breadfruit

 
Originally from the Philippines, the 'ulu can now be found growing through most of the islands in the Pacific Ocean, Southeast Asia and parts of the Caribbean.
 
Easy to grow and propagate, a single tree can produce up to 200 fruit, making it the ideal home garden or backyard crop.  The 'ulu is a starchy and nutritious food source, loaded with carbohydrates and fiber, very low in fat and can be eaten at any stage of maturity.  It can be boiled, steamed, roasted, fried, scalloped, mashed and prepared any way you would potatoes.  Although the taste is bland on its own, the 'ulu absorbs the flavors of any other ingredients added.  The fruit freezes well and can be easily saved for the months in which it is out of season.
 
Although there are hundreds of documented varieties of 'ulu, in Hawai'i the most popular varieties are the Samoan Ma'afala and the simply called Hawaiian breadruit.
 
The resurgence of breadfruit as a staple that could easily help relieve world hunger, has seen several festivals celebrated around the islands to introduce the fruit to many who are not familiar of how to use this food source.
Puna BF CC - Cooking Contest Site
The Cooking Contest site - a beautiful bamboo structure on the school grounds nestled among trees and within sound and smell of the ocean!
 
Kua O Ka Lā Public Charter School at Pū‘āla‘a on Red Road in Lower Puna
on the Island of Hawai'i was the host for a day of celebrating everything 'ulu this past Saturday, March 3rd. A part of the event was the Cooking Contest where every recipe required that 'ulu be the main ingredient. 
 
The Cooking Contest Categories were, Appetizers, Entrée and Desserts.
Each entry was judged for: Best Use of Breadfruit; Taste; Appearance/Presentation, Originality and Healthiest Ingredients. 
Puna BF CC - 'Ulu Puli'al 2 - Ann Kobsa

 
The following recipe was the First Place Winner in the Entrée Category and was also the recipient of the Healthiest Choice Award.
 

‘Ulu Puli‘al    (spicy South Indian breadfruit poriyal) 

1 ‘ulu

1/2 coconut, grated

2 teaspoons mustard seed

1 teaspoon cumin seed

1 teaspoon urid dal (optional)

1/4 teaspoon asafetida

10 (or so) small chiles, chopped

2 sprays of curry leaves, sliced

2” piece fresh ‘olena, grated

2” piece fresh ginger, grated

Juice of 1/2 to 1 lemon

Sea water (or salt) to taste

Culantro, minced 

Quarter the ‘ulu, remove core, steam 20 minutes and mash (I leave the skin on).  Put the mustard, cumin, dal and asafetida in a pan big enough to hold everything - you can add a little fat if you want (I used 1 teaspoon lard), or dry roast.  Heat until the seeds begin to pop. Add the curry leaves and then the chiles, ‘olena, ginger and coconut, and stir.  Add seawater and cook for a few minutes to reduce the liquid.  Add mashed ‘ulu and mix thoroughly.  Add lemon juice, adjusting amount for best balance of salty and sour.  Serve hot or cold, alone or with avocado chunks. Sprinkle culantro on top. 

Entry by: Ann Kobsa, Pahoa 

Notes: 

'canoe plants' - plants that travelled with the early settlers of the islands

‘ulu – Hawaiian word for breadfruit

urid or urad dal – (Vigna mungo) a legume

‘olena - turmeric

culantro - (Eryngium foetidum L., Apiaceae) is a biennial herb indigenous to continental Tropical America and the West Indies, not to be confused with cilantro.

 
For more information and recipes from the Puna Breadfruit Festival, please check the links below.
 
More recipes to come!

 

Posted at 06:26 AM in Celebrations, Festivals, Food and Drink, Food and Recipes, Island Happenings, Life in Hawaii | | 0 Comments

March 04, 2012

The Puna 'Ulu Festival - Cooking Contest Recipe - BOS

Saturday, March 3rd seemed like it dawned raining everywhere on the island except at the Breadfruit Festival location at the Kua O Ka La New Century Charter School in Pū‘āla‘a, on the Kapoho-Kalapana road in lower Puna.

Puna BF CC - Face painted keiki
Two lovely masked keiki enjoying the festival

 

Over 1,100 people showed up even though there was inclement weather where they started from and were surprised to find it overcast, but breezy and cool during the day...well, all but for about a 4 minute quick shower that didn't seem to dampen anyone's spirit!

Live music, cooking and cultural demonstrations, a huge imu loaded with breadfruit, lots of ono food, face painting for the keiki and many more activities staged all around the school property,

Puna BF CC - U'i Pai and Kumu Auli'i Mitchell
U'i Pai and Kumu Auli'i Mitchell laden with gifts donated for the Cooking Contest Prizes.

 

The Breadfruit Cooking Contest which was open to the public featured three categories: Appetizer, Main Dish/Entrée and Dessert. Prizes were awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rdplace in each of these categories and for Healthiest Choice and Best in Show.

Judges criteria for judging: Best Use of Breadfruit, Taste, Presentation, Originality and Healthy Ingredients.

Puna BF CC - Punana Cookies - Raven Hanna

The 1st Place Winner in the Dessert Category also took the overall Best of Show Award.

Pūnana Cookies 

1-1/2 cups ripe 'ulu, steamed
1 cup finely chopped raw, unsalted macadamia nuts
1/2 cup shredded, dried, unsweetened coconut
Pinch sea salt
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
Homemade liliko'i ginger jelly
Macadamia nut oil for pan, optional 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F 

Mash steamed breadfruit using a crank processor, a potato masher or a brief pulse in a blender.  The resulting paste should be sticky and clumpy, like buttermilk frosting. 

Put the macadamia nuts, coconut, salt and cardamom in a mixing bowl and fold in the breadfruit paste, much like mixing butter into a batter until all the ingredients are well incorporated. 

Either wipe a cookie sheet with macadamia oil or use a non-stick cookie sheet.  Take about one tablespoons of breadfruit batter and roll into a ball.  Form the dough into a nest with an impression on top for the jelly.  Wet hands can help form the well-structured nest.  Fill the sheet with the nests about 1 to 2 inches from each other.  Then add about 1/2 a teaspoon of jelly to each nest.  Liliko’i jelly is ono because of its bright, tart flavor, but any firm jam or jelly will work. 

Put the cookie sheet into the oven and bake at 350 degrees F for about 20 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly browned on the bottom and/or top.  Remove and cool on a rack.  Enjoy! 

Notes: This recipe is easy, healthy (for a dessert), and can be sourced completely locally! Plus, it is vegan and gluten free! 

Yield: about 24 cookies.

Entry by: Raven Hanna and Jeremy Lutes, Pahoa

 

Notes:
'ulu - breadfruit
ono - delicious
keiki - children
imu - Hawaiian underground oven
liliko'i - passion fruit
kumu - source of knowledge, teacher

More recipes to come!

 

Posted at 06:10 PM in Celebrations, Food and Drink, Food and Recipes, Island Happenings, Life in Hawaii | | 0 Comments

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