Nornie Bero, a Meriam chef and author, has released a trio of homely recipes from her new book Native Ingredients Every Day. The recipes feature taro and cassava, cooked with native Australian ingredients. The dishes include taro chips and red bean nachos, cassava yellow curry, and cassava hash with desert lime and pea yoghurt.
Taro Chips and Red Bean Nachos
Bero describes nachos as a household favourite, emphasising the red bean salsa. She builds a volcano-like chip tower with taro chips fried crispier than an aunty's gossip, loaded with smoky red bean salsa and melted cheese. The dish is finished with a bush lemon cream that is smooth, zesty, and has a jalapeño wink. The taro chips can be made beforehand and stored in an airtight container for up to two weeks. If the bush lemon cream is not preferred, plain sour cream or guacamole are acceptable alternatives.
Serves 6 to 8. For the taro chips: vegetable oil for deep-frying, 500g taro peeled and thinly sliced, 1 tbsp lemon aspen powder. For the bush lemon cream: 250g sour cream, ½ cup pickled jalapeños plus extra to serve, 2 avocados, ½ tsp ground pepperberry, 2 garlic cloves crushed, juice of 2 lemons. For the red bean salsa: 800g tinned red kidney beans rinsed and drained, 800g tinned diced tomatoes, 1 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves chopped, 1 cup coriander leaves chopped, ½ red onion diced, 2 spring onions thinly sliced, ⅓ cup sweet chilli sauce, 1 small red capsicum deseeded and diced, 1 tsp ground pepperberry, 1 tsp dried saltbush, ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil, juice of 2 lemons. For the cheese mix: 1 cup grated vintage cheddar cheese, 1½ cups grated mozzarella cheese, 1 cup grated parmesan cheese.
To make the taro chips, heat vegetable oil in a deep, heavy-based frying pan over medium-high heat. Fry small batches of taro for two to three minutes until golden and crisp. Drain on paper towel, then sprinkle with lemon aspen powder. To make the bush lemon cream, blend sour cream, jalapeños, avocados, garlic, pepperberry, lemon juice, and sea salt until smooth. Chill until ready to serve. Preheat oven grill to 200C. For the red bean salsa, mix all ingredients in a large bowl. For the cheese mix, combine the three cheeses. Lay taro chips on a large baking tray, spoon over red bean salsa, scatter cheese mix, and grill until bubbling and golden. Top with dollops of bush lemon cream and extra jalapeños.
Cassava Yellow Curry
Bero highlights cassava's nutty flavour, spice, and nutritional benefits, noting that it is an underutilised root vegetable. Fresh or frozen cassava can be used; frozen cassava from Asian grocery stores does not need thawing. Pandan leaf is also available at Asian grocers.
Serves 4. Ingredients: 1kg fresh or peeled frozen cassava, 1 tsp ground turmeric, dash of vegetable oil, 1 medium onion sliced, 2 tsp chilli powder, 1½ tsp ground aniseed myrtle, 3 tsp Keen's Traditional Curry Powder, 1 tsp celery seeds, 500ml coconut cream, 500ml vegetable stock, 1 teagrass stalk, 2.5 cm piece pandan leaf, 3 lemon myrtle leaves, 1 tsp whole wattleseeds, 2 cups warrigal greens, steamed rice or roti to serve.
If using fresh cassava, wash and peel, placing pieces in water to prevent browning. Transfer cassava to a large saucepan, cover with 10 cups water, bring to boil, and cook for 30 to 40 minutes until soft, adding turmeric after 20 minutes. Drain, cool, and cut into chunky cubes. Add oil to a large saucepan over medium-high heat, add onion, chilli, aniseed myrtle, curry powder, and celery seeds, cooking for two minutes. Add cassava, 350ml coconut cream, stock, teagrass, pandan leaf, lemon myrtle leaves, and wattleseeds. Cook for 25 minutes, adding 250ml water and remaining coconut cream if needed. Add warrigal greens and simmer for 10 minutes. Season with salt. Serve with rice or roti.
Cassava Hash with Desert Lime and Pea Yoghurt
Bero calls cassava the queen of the hash scene, contrasting its crunchy nuttiness with pea yoghurt freshened with mint. Cassava should be washed and peeled, then placed in water to prevent browning if not grating immediately. Saltbush chips are made by shallow-frying a few tablespoons of saltbush leaves in hot oil for a few seconds until crisp, then draining and sprinkling with salt.
Serves 4. For the cassava hash: 1kg cassava peeled, 1 egg, ¼ cup tapioca starch, 2 garlic cloves crushed, 1 onion grated, ½ tsp dried saltbush, 1 tsp ground white pepper, good pinch of ground pepperberry, extra-virgin olive oil for frying. For the desert lime and pea yoghurt: 1 cup frozen peas thawed, finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon plus extra juice to taste, 2 tbsp finely diced desert limes, 1 garlic clove crushed, ½ cup chopped mint leaves, 2 tbsp chopped river mint leaves optional, ½ cup shelled fresh peas, 2 tbsp saltbush chips plus extra, ½ cup thick plain yoghurt, 1 French shallot finely diced, pinch of ground pepperberry.
To make the cassava hash, finely grate cassava, wrap in a clean tea towel, and squeeze out excess liquid. Let the liquid sit, then carefully tip off, saving the white starch at the bottom. In a large bowl, combine grated cassava, cassava starch, egg, tapioca starch, garlic, onion, saltbush, white pepper, and pepperberry. Mix until a thick batter forms. Heat oil in a non-stick or cast-iron frying pan over medium heat. Scoop quarter-cup portions of batter into the pan, flattening to form patties. Fry three to four minutes on each side until crispy and golden. Keep warm on a rack or paper towel-lined plate. For the desert lime and pea yoghurt, use a hand blender to blitz thawed frozen peas, lemon zest and juice, garlic, desert limes, mint, and river mint until combined but still textured. Stir in fresh peas, saltbush chips, yoghurt, shallot, and pepperberry. Adjust with more lemon juice or saltbush if desired. Stack hash cakes high, dollop generously with yoghurt, and garnish with extra saltbush chips and a squeeze of lemon.
This is an edited extract from Native Ingredients Every Day by Nornie Bero, photography by Rochelle Eagle, available now through Hardie Grant (A$45).
