Taro root with spinach
March 9, 2010 • Category: Salads
Taro root is a vegetable that is commonly used in Lebanon, especially during Lent. It is cultivated locally and known as kolkass; I know from my Egyptian friend Phoebe that the Egyptians love it too; in fact, when I stopped by the Palestinian grocer I found bags of Taro root in the freezer imported from Egypt, all cut up with a spice packet included for a paltry $1.40.
According to Wikipedia, it is one of the oldest vegetable known to man; judging by its gnarled and downright repulsive aspect, I have no problem believing that cave-man AKA Fred Flintstone, used to eat it for a snack. Don’t let appearances fool you, however; this is a “good for you” veggie, recommended by all the higher authorities on health. It is sold everywhere, I found it at Target, Asian and Latino markets, mid-eastern grocers, even plain old American supermarkets and health food stores.
Taro is prepared in several ways in Lebanon; its texture is similar to potatoes, but it has a very pleasant and distinct flavor: so, as I was saying, it is cooked with lentils, or lamb shanks or even with a tahini and Seville orange sauce. You can substitute it with turnips, rutabagas, or potatoes.
Today, I decided to be lazy all the way, using what is in the kitchen already. I am making a stew with taro, spinach, cilantro pesto and serving it over rice. I made the cilantro pesto fresh, but if you have some stashed away in the freezer, now is the time to dump it into the stew.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 bag of frozen cut up Taro root (or one pound of fresh taro, peeled, cut in cubes and dipped in a bowl of water with a squirt of lemon)
- 1 small bag of chopped frozen spinach (about 10 ounces); substitute any greens like swiss chard.
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 can of chick peas, rinsed thoroughly.
- 1 rib of celery.
- 1/4 cup (or more) of cilantro pesto (recipe follows)
- 1 small cube of vegetable bouillon diluted in 6 cups of water (optional)
- quartered lemons to squeeze over the stew (optional)
If using fresh taro root, I would recommend using gloves and after peeling it, you should dump it into a bowl filled with water and a squirt of a lemon.
For the vermicelli rice: Optional you can eat it as is! (no rice)
This is the traditional side dish with a stew in Lebanon; you can forego the rice and use bread or any other grain of your choice.
- 1 1/2 cups of Basmati rice
- 1 cup of cut Vermicelli noodles AKAfideos
- 2 tablespoons of oil or butter, a dash of salt
Instructions on making rice: Please refer to the post on lamb shanks with peas & carrots.
METHOD: Make the cilantro pesto:
- Grab a bunch of cilantro, wash and dry it and chop off the stems. Chop the cilantro as fine as possible and set aside.
- Mash the garlic with a dash of salt.
- Heat some olive oil, add the cilantro and garlicand fry the mixture for one minute or so. Set aside.
Make the taro stew:
- Heat two tablespoons of olive oil and add the chopped onions. Cover the pan for 5 minutes until the onions are translucent and then uncover the pan and let the onions get some golden color.
- Add the taro to the pan (frozen or fresh), stir fry for a couple of minutes. Add 6 cups of water (to which a cube of veggie bouillon has been added),the rib of celery, cover the pan and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Add the spinach, the chick peas, the cilantro pesto and uncover the pan to simmer 10 minutes more until the water has evaporated and the stew has gotten more compact.
- Season to taste, serve as is or with rice or bread.
Comments
30 Comments • Comments Feed
Faith says:
I don’t think I’ve ever had taro root…I am definitely intrigued, so I’ll be on the lookout for it when I go grocery shopping next. Sounds like a lovely combination of flavors in this dish!
On March 9, 2010 at 6:08 pm
T.W. Barritt says:
I’ve heard of taro root but never tried it. It looks like a starchy vegetable but maybe a more distinctive flavor than potatoes?
On March 9, 2010 at 7:47 pm
Stella says:
Your cauliflower is so beautiful with those colors in it, and this sounds delicious. That Taro and cilantro pesto is so interesting too. I never knew how to use taro, so thank you. I won’t be afraid of it next time I see it at the health food store.
On March 9, 2010 at 7:47 pm
Ciaochowlinda says:
I only had taro root once in Hawaii, so this is really a new vegetable to me. Thanks for stopping by my blog and giving me the chance to find yours and discover a whole different type of cuisine. I’ll be perusing your blog to see what you cook up.
On March 9, 2010 at 10:04 pm
Mimi says:
I haven’t had taro before , but now I am curious and want to try this.
Mimi
On March 9, 2010 at 10:23 pm
Barbara Bakes says:
Such an interesting post. I have never tried taro root. Your meal looks fresh, healthy and delicious!
On March 9, 2010 at 10:34 pm
sweetlife says:
how interesting..I have made cilantro pesto before and love it but with taro root..yummy!! shirley temple really?? I loved her!!
sweetlife
On March 9, 2010 at 10:59 pm
Sushma Mallya says:
Very healthy one & looks delicious ….love your step by step procedure too…
On March 9, 2010 at 11:16 pm
Danielle says:
You had me at cilantro paste (love cilantro) but your description of taro root has me intrigued. I’ll be looking for this veggie the next time I go shopping! This recipe sounds so good!
On March 9, 2010 at 11:35 pm
Ivy says:
I love taro and wish I could find it in Greece. In Greece it is not known, except for Ikaria island. In Cyprus we call it kolokassi and we usually stew it with celery and onions and also cook it with pork.
On March 10, 2010 at 1:58 am
Priya says:
Never tried taro root like this, pesto sounds truly fantastic and yummy!!
On March 10, 2010 at 3:04 am
Rosa says:
That is an interesting use of taro roots! I bet this dish tastes wonderful!
Cheers,
Rosa
On March 10, 2010 at 3:07 am
Sook @ My Fabulous Recipes says:
Oh a different kind of pesto! Looks so healthy and delicious!
On March 10, 2010 at 3:13 am
Barbara says:
Fascinating post, Joumana. I’ve had taro root in Hawaii in the form of poi. It lacked interest and I imagine needs to be served with lots of flavors…which you seem to have combined in your recipe. Looks good!
On March 10, 2010 at 6:03 am
The Little Teochew says:
Oh. My. Goodness. That is an amazing dish! These taro roots are so readily available here in Singapore. I always cut them up into cubes and cook with rice, like I did today. But your dish looks phenomenal!
On March 10, 2010 at 9:10 am
theUngourmet says:
I’ve seen taro in the store but I’ve never tried cooking with it. Your recipe looks so fresh and delicious!
On March 10, 2010 at 11:48 am
Julie says:
Je ne connais pas du tout les racines de “taro” (je ne trouve pas de traduction, ça se dit peut-être comme ça en français) mais ça me fait penser un peu aux panais et rutabagas effectivement. J’aime bien découvrir de nouveaux produits, avec tes recettes c’est gagné à chaque fois!
Des bisous!
On March 10, 2010 at 12:12 pm
Joumana says:
Julie
J’ai vu une recette dans un bouquin de cuisine libanaise qui l’appelait topinambour; c’est peut-être ça!
On March 10, 2010 at 12:29 pm
Nadjibella says:
Je n’ai jamais cuisiné de taro . J’en trouverai peut-être dans les magasins chinois.
Je ne l’aurai pas pris pour du topinambour que j’aime beaucoup.
A bientôt.
On March 10, 2010 at 12:57 pm
Arlette says:
wow its been ages since I ate something like this…..
I love Taro root with tahini / KilKas bi tahini , its the right timing now since
I am cooking vegetarian meals most of the time…
great photos.. its a great posting…
Good that you still remember most of our food.
On March 10, 2010 at 1:28 pm
Wizzythestick says:
Taro root is called dasheen in the Caribbean and it’s a favourite here too. I like looking at the different ways various cultures have for using this root vegetable. We cook the leaves as well.
On March 10, 2010 at 2:23 pm
Murasaki Shikibu says:
These are very common in Japan and an integral part of Japanese cuisine.
In some ‘cult’ Japanese restaurants, they will just have some of these that are steamed or boiled with their skin on and you eat them with just a bit of good quality sea salt. The skin is cut in such a way so that if you put a little pressure on them they pop out of their skin.
They can also be cooked in a fish broth with Konbu and flavored very delicately.
I guess the idea was to make sure the flavors were subtle so you could taste the taro root more intensely.
Back home we used to eat them dipped in soy sauce, but gourmet people wouldn’t recommend this because soy sauce is too overpowering. 😉
On March 10, 2010 at 3:38 pm
cheffresco says:
We love cilantro, but never can seem to use it all before it goes bad. Great idea to make pesto out of it! Very tasty dish.
On March 10, 2010 at 6:52 pm
Art and Appetite says:
I would have never known how all these ingredients works together. It is so innovative yet it sounds sooo good. I can’t wait to try. Love pesto sauce!
On March 10, 2010 at 7:13 pm
5 Star Foodie says:
I haven’t cooked with taro root but I bet I can find it in my supermarket. This dish sounds excellent, I can’t wait to try it.
On March 10, 2010 at 7:19 pm
TastyTrix says:
I’ve only ever had taro in Asian dishes, and I do love it, and so I definitely want to try it like this. Looks so delicious.
On March 11, 2010 at 8:10 am
Michelle says:
Fell in love with taro root when we were in Hawaii. Especially like the taro root chips!
On March 12, 2010 at 1:38 am
oum mouncifrayan says:
une belle découverte pour moi cette version! merci
On March 13, 2010 at 1:36 pm
Bonnie Johnson says:
I, too, found your recipe fascinating and I can’t wait to try it. I always associated taro root with either Asian food or Hawaiian food, but never with Middle Eastern food. A few days ago, I stopped in to shop at my favorite Persian gourmet market to buy several things, and I saw frozen cubes of tarot root next to the frozen Moolochia I was buying. I couldn’t figure out what this frozen taro was doing in a Middle Eastern market, so I decided to look it up. There I found your website and your recipe, and to my surprise, from the comments of other readers, I discovered that the use of taro in foods of the world was much more widespread than I ever imagined. I really enjoyed the comments of your other readers, including a few written in French which I was thrilled that I could still read (my last French class was 47 years ago!). So discovering your site has been very mind-expanding, in addition to adding to my culinary repertoire. Thank you so much for that!
On November 16, 2018 at 5:30 am
Joumana Accad says:
@Bonnie Johnson: My pleasure!!
On December 30, 2018 at 8:53 pm