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Servings: 12
Ingredients
- 2 lb taro (about 1/2 of a large corm)
- 1â2 c unsalted butter
- 1â2 c coconut syrup
- salt and pepper as needed
- 1â2 c toasted macademia nuts, roughly chopped
- 1â2 c toasted unsweetened coconut flakes
View Full Recipe at Sippity Sup-Serious Fun Food
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Nutrition Facts
| Amount Per Serving | %DV |
|---|---|
| Serving Size 132g | |
| Recipe makes 12 servings | |
| Calories 517 | |
| Calories from Fat 435 | 84% |
| Total Fat 49.64g | 62% |
| Saturated Fat 32.27g | 129% |
| Trans Fat 0.0g | |
| Cholesterol 122mg | 41% |
| Sodium 15mg | 1% |
| Potassium 435mg | 12% |
| Total Carbs 18.82g | 5% |
| Dietary Fiber 3.6g | 12% |
| Sugars 0.94g | 1% |
| Protein 1.8g | 3% |
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%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EARACEAE,%20Arum%20Family%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3ETaro%20is%20an%20important%20food%20crop%20to%20100%20million%20people%20living%20in%20the%20tropics.%20The%20entire%20plant%20is%20used%20in%20cooking.%20The%20large%20(up%20to%206%20feet%20long)%20arrow-shaped%20leaves%20are%20a%20healthy%20leafy%20green%20that%20is%20usually%20eaten%20in%20soup,%20used%20to%20wrap%20other%20foods,%20boiled%20and%20served%20as%20a%20side%20dish%20or%20baked%20into%20caseroles.%20It's%20quite%20delicious.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EBut%20today%20we%20are%20looking%20a%20bit%20lower%20than%20the%20tall%20erect%20leaves%20for%20our%20culinary%20inspiration.%20In%20fact%20we%20are%20digging%20under%20the%20soil%20to%20feature%20what%20is%20often%20called%20the%20root%E2%80%93%20taro%20root.%20It%20is%20the%20most%20culinarily%20important%20part%20of%20the%20plant,%20and%20it%20is%20the%20subject%20of%20today's%20Coconut%20Baked%20Taro%20with%20Macadamia%20Nuts.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EBut%20before%20we%20get%20to%20the%20recipe%20I%20just%20have%20to%20share%20a%20little%20of%20what%20I%20learned%20about%20Taro%20while%20I%20have%20been%20in%20the%20Hawaiian%20Islands.%20First%20off,%20it%20is%20not%20actually%20a%20root%20but%20rather%20it%20is%20a%20corm%E2%80%93%20an%20erect,%20starchy,%20underground%20stem,%20which%20can%20grow%20to%20be%20over%20a%20foot%20long.%20It%20is%20often%20referred%20to%20as%20the%20potato%20of%20the%20tropics.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EThe%20folks%20that%20study%20such%20things%20surmise%20that%20taro%20was%20an%20ancient%20crop,%20and%20may%20even%20be%20among%20the%20first%20of%20all%20cultivated%20plants.%20Long%20ago%20humans%20learned%20to%20eat%20the%20bottom%20portion%20of%20the%20corm%20and%20then%20replant%20the%20leaves%20and%20top%20of%20the%20corm,%20so%20that%20they%20could%20return%20in%2010%20months%20for%20a%20rejuvinated%20crop.%20The%20information%20I%20found%20from%20UCLA%20says:%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3E%22It%20was%20probably%20first%20native%20to%20the%20lowland%20wetlands%20of%20Malaysia%20(taloes).%20Estimates%20are%20that%20taro%20was%20in%20cultivation%20in%20wet%20tropical%20India%20before%205000%20B.C.,%20presumably%20coming%20from%20Malaysia,%20and%20from%20India%20further%20transported%20westward%20to%20ancient%20Egypt,%20where%20it%20was%20described%20by%20Greek%20and%20Roman%20historians%20as%20an%20important%20crop.%20The%20ancient%20Egyptian%20word%20for%20taro%20was%20colcus%20or%20kulkas;%20the%20ancient%20Arabic%20word%20was%20qolquas;%20and%20the%20Greek%20word%20was%20colocasia,%20which%20is%20now%20the%20generic%20name.%20Taro%20also%20spread%20eastward%20into%20ancient%20China%20and%20Indonesia...%20The%20Maoris%20took%20taro%20to%20New%20Zealand,%20presumably%20aboard%20massive%20sea%20crafts%20like%20a%20Fijian%20camakau.%20Students%20of%20Pacific%20islanders%20have%20traced%20the%20migration%20of%20taro%20with%20the%20Polynesians%20from%20Indonesia%20and%20New%20Zealand%20eastward%20to%20the%20Hawaiian%20Islands%20(called%20kalo),%20where%20it%20presumably%20arrived%20in%20450%20AD.%22%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EBy%20the%20time%20Captain%20Cook%20came%20to%20the%20Hawaiian%20Islands%20in%201778,%20the%20indigenous%20population%20lived%20chiefly%20on%20taro%20and%20sweet%20potatoes,%20supplemented%20with%20things%20from%20the%20sea.%20As%20with%20most%20things%20Hawaiian%20a%20complex%20and%20romantic%20legend%20is%20attached%20to%20taro%20and%20how%20it%20came%20to%20these%20islands.%20According%20the%20local%20lore%20taro%20was%20the%20product%20of%20a%20union%20between%20mother%20earth%20(Papa)%20and%20father%20sky%20(Wakea)%20before%20man%20inhabited%20these%20islands.%20It%20is%20therefore%20honored%20as%20an%20entity%20superior%20to%20man%20and%20treasured%20as%20the%20most%20important%20food%20crop.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3ESo%20prevelant%20was%20its%20ancient%20cultivation%20there%20that%20there%20may%20have%20been%20up%20to%20300%20cultivars%20in%20Hawaii%20when%20Captain%20Cook%20arrived.%20Poi%20is%20its%20most%20well-known%20Hawaiin%20preparation.%20It%20is%20traditionally%20prepared%20by%20peeling%20the%20corm%20and%20then%20pounding%20the%20flesh%20on%20a%20board%20with%20a%20stone%20(pohaku%20ku'I).%20The%20thick%20paste,%20which%20is%20then%20dried,%20diluted%20with%20water,%20kneaded,%20and%20then%20aged.%20Some%20ancient%20Polynesians%20were%20said%20to%20consume%20up%20to%2020%20pounds%20of%20poi%20per%20day!%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EIf%20you%20are%20going%20to%20make%20anything%20with%20taro%20there%20is%20something%20you%20should%20know.%20Similar%20to%20stinging%20nettles%20it%20must%20be%20heated%20before%20consumption%20to%20remove%20an%20acrid,%20irritating%20property%20known%20as%20calcium%20oxalate.%20This%20substance%20occurs%20throughout%20the%20plant%20and%20can%20produce%20an%20intense%20itching%20and%20burning%20if%20eaten%20or%20handled%20with%20out%20gloves.%20It%20won't%20hurt%20you%20in%20any%20permanent%20way,%20but%20it%20can%20be%20uncomfortable%20to%20some%20people.%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EIn%20the%2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