Moana-Roa Mahimahi is a traditional Cook Islands recipe for a classic dish of a mahimahi fillet cooked in coconut milk served on a bed of taro leaves in coconut milk that's accompanied with boiled green bananas and taro. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Cook Islands version of: Moana-Roa Mahimahi.
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Mahimahi Fish Fillet, poached in coconut cream and served atop rukau/taro leaves with seasonal kinaki (taro, kumara, boiled green banana, kuru) Garnish with crispy fried slivers of ginger and citrus zest and fresh lime.
Ingredients:
200g mahi mahi
500ml coconut cream
200g cooked rukau (taro leaves)
2 garlic cloves
1 onion, diced
finely-grated zest of 1 lemon
1 tbsp fresh ginger slivers
Salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
2 green bananas
2 taro corms, peeled and cubed
Vegetable oil
lime juice, to garnish
Method:
Fry half the onion with one garlic clove in a small amount of oil. When the onion is soft and translucent (about 5 minutes), add the taro leaves (or substitute spinach) and 500ml of the coconut cream. Season with salt and pepper, bring to a simmer and cook until the leaves are tender. Add a squeeze of lemon and set aside to keep warm.
fry the remaining onion and the other garlic clove in a medium-sized pan. In the meantime, rub the fish fillets with salt and freshly-ground black pepper and add to the onion and garlic. Pour the remaining 500ml of coconut cream into the pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until the fish is done (about 12 to 15 minutes).
Heat a little more oil in a small pan and fry one tablespoon of slivered ginger with the lemon zest. Keep stirring to avoid burning the zest. When the ginger is crispy, remove from heat.
Meanwhile, bring two large pans of water to a boil. Add the diced taro corms to one pot and the green bananas to the other (do not peel the bananas). Boil the taro root until it is fork-tender, and the bananas until the skins start to split (they should also be tender). Let then cool, then peel the bananas and slice.
Spoon the taro leaves onto each serving plate. Sit the fish on the leaves and then garnish with the fried ginger and lemon zest and some freshly-ground black pepper.
Surround the fish with the taro root and banana, garnish with lime juice and serve.
