Chicken and taro stew (kolokasi)

This is a welcoming, homely stew from Cyprus. The main ingredient is taro, which is a potato-like vegetable that has a nutty taste when cooked. Pork can be substituted for the chicken, but nothing beats meat that is cooked on the bone.

• serves

  4

• prep

  20 minutes

• cook

  1 hour

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

• 60 ml (¼ cup) olive oil
• 6 chicken drumsticks, skinless
• 2 cups chopped celery
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp salt
• 750 g taro, peeled, finely chopped
• juice of 1 lemon

Cooling time 1 hour 15 minutes

Instructions

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium–high heat.

Brown the chicken drumsticks for 4 minutes, then transfer to a plate.

Add the celery, tomato paste, 250 ml (1 cup) water and salt to the pan and stir to combine. Return chicken to pan, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

Add the taro and lemon juice to pan. Shake the pan, don’t stir, to settle taro.

Add 750 ml (3 cups) water, shake the pan again, then simmer, covered, for 40 minutes or until taro is tender and chicken is cooked through.

Serve with black olives, feta and green salad.

Photography Helend Cathcart.

As seen in Feast magazine, Sept 2011, Issue 1. For more recipes and articles, pick up a copy of this month's Feast magazine or check out our great subscriptions offers here.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.