 Food
and Recipes of Fiji
In
general, native Fijians and the Fijian-Indian populations
use their hands to eat. Meals are eaten on the floor while
the family sits on mats. If you make a Fijian meal to share
this month, consider incorporating these eating customs into
your meal plan.
Common
food of Fiji:
Rice, taro, breadfruit, sweet potatoes, cassava, fish &
coconut
Lovo
A communal
village feast for special occasions such as weddings, festivals
or the inauguration of a new chief. Lovo is prepared by digging
a large pit and lining it with dry coconut husks. The husks
are set on fire, then stones are heaped on top. When the flames
from the coconut husks die down, the food is wrapped in banana
leaves and lowered into the pit. Meat and fish are always
put in first, and the vegetables are put on top. Everything
is covered with more banana leaves and stones and left to
cook for about 2 ½ hours. When it’s ready, it’s
a feast for all!
Sweet
Potato and Pineapple Bake
Although this dish sounds like an unlikely combination of
flavours, it is quite scrumptious and the ingredients are
easily attained. If you don’t eat dairy, use the second
recipe for a Cheeze Sauce – not as traditional, but
it works well if you can’t (or won’t) handle dairy.
 Ingredients
2 medium sweet potatoes, baked, peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch slabs
1 fresh pineapple, peeled, cored and sliced into 1/4 inch slabs (or use 1 can or pineapple rings if you cannot get a good fresh pineapple)
½ cup freshly grated coconut
¼ cup green onions, chopped
2 cups cheese sauce (see below)
sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Arrange each layer (sweet potato, pineapple, coconut,
green onions) in a lightly oiled pie plate in that order,
seasoning each completed layer with the sea salt and fresh
ground pepper. Pour cheese sauce over top.
3. Bake for 30 minutes. Serve hot.
Cheese Sauce - traditional
6 Tbsp
butter
6 Tbsp flour
2-1/2 cups light cream
2 tsp dry mustard
2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
Combine flour and butter in heavy pan over medium heat. Cook
for 2 minutes, until flour starts to brown. Slowly stir in
the cream. Stir constantly until desired consistency achieved,
then add cheese, mustard and salt and pepper to taste. Stir
until cheese is melted, remove from heat and use immediately.
Cheeze
Sauce - non-dairy
1 cup nutritional yeast
6 tbsp flour (can use wheat or rice flour)
2 ½ tbsp arrowroot powder
1 tsp sea salt
2 cups water
2 tbsp vegetable oil
Mix dry
ingredients in a medium pot. Add water and oil, whisk thoroughly
and heat over medium heat until desired consistency is reached.
Use immediately.
Banana Cassava
Cake
A very
simple 4 ingredient cake. Tastes great served warm or cold.
Look for the cassava and coconut cream in large supermarkets,
or specialty grocery stores. The sugar can be replaced with
sweetner of your choice is you prefer to avoid refined sugar
(we used Sucanat)
Ingredients
1 tbsp Sugar
1 cup Coconut Cream (be sure to use coconut cream; not coconut
milk)
4 mashed bananas
1 ½ - 2 pounds Fresh Cassava, peeled and grated
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven 350 F and lightly oil an 8 inch square
cake pan.
2. Beat
the coconut cream and sugar together.
3. Add
the mashed bananas and mix thoroughly
4. Add
the grated cassava and mix thoroughly.
5. Pour
into cake pan and bake for about 45 minutes until the top
is a golden colour.
Kokoda
A traditional
Fijian dish that tastes much better than it sounds. The traditional
dish is prepared with mahi-mahi; we used halibut, but you
can use white fish of your choice. Again, very simple to prepare
– just be sure to leave enough time to marinate the
fish in the lime. You’ll need a minimum of 6 hours.
Ingredients
2 White Fish Fillets
Juice from 3 large limes
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 cup Coconut Cream (be sure to use the cream and not the
milk)
1 Onion, finely chopped
1 hot pepper, deseeded and finely chopped
2 Tomatoes, deseeded and finely chopped
Directions
1. Cut the fish into bite-size pieces and place in a glass
or plastic bowl (avoid metal as it will react with the lime
juice and ruin your dish) Add the lime juice and salt. Mix
well, cover and marinate in fridge for 6-10 hours.
2. Just before serving, add coconut cream, onion, and the
pepper. Stir thoroughly then place onto serving platter
using slotted spoon. Top with chopped tomatoes and serve
with a flourish.
Lentil and Potato
Curry
A very
delicious curry that tastes great topped with coconut chutney
(recipe below). All spices and seeds are easily found in a
large supermarket.
 Ingredients
2 Tbsp
olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
½ tsp turmeric
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp mustard seeds
¼ tsp fenugreek seeds
1 cinnamon stick
6 cloves
4 cardamom
4 cloves
of garlic, minced
3 small chillies, minced
1 tsp freshly grated ginger
2 tsp curry powder
1 cup dry lentils
2 potatoes, peeled and chopped
salt to taste
1 tomato, chopped
3 cups water
Directions
In a
medium size pot, heat the olive oil then add the onions,
cumin, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, cinnamon, cloves,
and cardamom. Cook over medium heat, stirring for one minute.
Add the minced garlic, tumeric, chillies, ginger and curry
powder. Stir and cook for another minute. Add the lentils,
potatoes, salt and water. Stir and cover. Simmer for 30-40
minutes, until the lentils and potatoes are both tender,
adding water if necessary. Add tomatoes and cook for 10
minutes more. Serve with rice.
Coconut Chutney
Ingredients
2 cups
freshly grated coconut
1 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
sea salt to taste
Method:
Combine
ingredients and keep in fridge until ready to serve. Will
keep for 1-2 weeks.
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