Green Stew (Fijian Roro)

Every culture has their own comfort foods. For Fijians, this Roro recipe is warm and hearty and embodies the wonderful flavours of the island using creamy coconut milk and greens. And although this Roro recipe looks exotic, it really couldn’t be easier. To be clear, roro actually means taro leaves; the traditional way of cooking it with coconut milk, onions, and salt, is what Indians (who were brought to the islands almost 150 years ago) have adopted and now simply call the dish itself. So technically the title of this post should be "Fijian Spinach recipe," but this post is more about the method than the ingredient. This one pot stew from the Fiji Islands comes together quickly, and makes for a hearty soup best eaten with rice, taro, or cassava.

1 (10 oz) pkg frozen chopped spinach (280 g)
1 (14 oz) can coconut milk
2 cups water
½ cup onions, chopped (30 g)
1 tsp. garlic paste, or 4 small cloves chopped
½ lime
2-3 thai chilis
1 tsp. sea salt

Remove the frozen chopped spinach out of the wrapper, and place on a microwave safe plate and heat for 1½ minutes on high in your microwave oven, until it has mostly thawed.

In a medium sauce pan, bring one cup of water to a boil; add in the chopped onion, garlic paste, chilis, and salt and simmer with the lid closed until tender (about 4 minutes).

Add the spinach to the pot, adding more water if needed (it should be just covering the spinach). Let the spinach cook for an additional 4-5 minutes, until everything is tender.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the entire can of coconut milk and stir. Let this boil for an additional 4-5 minutes, until the milk thickens and absorbs all of the flavour.

Add an additional cup of water at this stage, to prevent the coconut milk from burning; boil until you reach a desired consistency (similar to a Thai curry).
Season with the juice of half a lime, adding more lime and salt per your taste.

If serving with cassava or taro, thaw the frozen rootcrop properly before boiling (countertop or microwave), otherwise find fresh rootcrop at your local ethnic grocer.

Bring a qt of water to a boil and cook the cassava or taro the same way you would a potato, by boiling until tender in the center when poked with a fork or a knife; strain and let rest before serving.

Depending on how much water is added, the coconut milk will thicken as it cools making it more dippable.

The flavours will continue to marinate and develop overnight, and this stew can keep for a week if refrigerated.

This dish can be eaten on its own, but can also be served with rice or flatbread.

Makes 2 servings.