Umu Rapa Nui is a traditional Pascuense (from Rapa Nui/Easter Island) recipe for a classic communal method of cooking meat, fish, root vegetables and fruit by steaming/baking in a pit oven. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Pascuense version of: Umu Rapa Nui.
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This is the national dish of Easter Island, Rapa Nui. Though to be truthful it's more of a cooking style rather than a dish.
Its preparation requires time, coordination and the participation of several people, which makes it a symbol of coexistence and transmission of knowledge between generations.
Traditionally it is cooked in a ground or pit oven using volcanic stones previously heated in the umu pae. Meats, fish, shellfish, tubers such as sweet potato, taro or cassava, and other local ingredients are placed on them, which are covered with banana leaves before being buried to conserve heat and steam during cooking.
Ingredients:
Meat, prepared and wrapped in banana leaves
fish, prepared and wrapped in banana leaves
root vegetables, prepared
fruit for roasting (eg papaya, green bananas)
plantains
banana leaves
Method:
Prepare the pit oven then set a fire on top to heat up the rocks.
Once the fire has died down and the rocks are hot add a layer of root vegetables. Cover with the fish and meat wrapped in banana leaves.
Cover with more vegetables and fruit for steaming.
Cover everything with more banana leaves then bury the pit oven. Allow the ingredients to roast/steam from the heat of the rocks for at least 3–'4 hours.
After this time, uncover the ingredients and serve hot.
