My parents are visiting from Canada at the moment. On Tuesday they went shopping and I came home to find a lot of kolokasi (otherwise known as tarot root) sitting on my kitchen table. I am not a fan of the traditional Cypriot method of preparing kolokasi (in a pork stew). What I do love, however are kolokasi chips. Salty, crispy, kolokasi chips, which are (randomly) quite popular in Hawaii and because the version below is homemade, healthier I say! How easy are they to make? Pretty easy. Easiest if you have a mandoline slicer, still possible with a potato peeler, and please-don’t-stab-yourself-you-must-really-want-to-make-kolokasi-chips with just a knife. What do you pair it with? Any sort of dip that you like. Truth be told, I love pairing chips with home-made dill flavoured cottage cheese and any movie made in the 1980s, but because I think that’s more of an acquired taste, I thought I’d pair it with some lime-chile guacamole. Cyprus meet Mexico. Mexico meet Cyprus. Ta-da. Pretty easy, and a great savoury snack!
Level of Difficulty: 2/5Cooking Time: about 3-4 minutes per 6-10 slices.
Makes a good snack for 2 people.
ingredients
1 kolokassi (tarot root)
peanut oil for frying (or sunflower oil if you prefer)
salt
recipe
1. Peel the rough outer skin exposing the white flesh of the kolokasi. It may feel a bit slime-y. That is OK. Do not wash the kolokasi as it will become even more slime-y. Also note that raw kolokasi is toxic and cannot be eaten! It is fine to eat if cooked, but raw kolokasi is inedible because it contains toxic levels of calcium oxalate crystals.
2. Slice the kolokasi with a mandoline slicer, producing thin and even slices. I had only a peeler at hand, so I carefully peeled slices off the kolokasi. The slices were about the same thickness, but weren’t the same shape. This doesn’t matter once they are fried.
3. Heat the oil on the stove to medium temperature. If the oil is too hot, it will turn the kolokasi brown too quickly and your chips will burn.
4. Add 6-10 kolokasi slices to the oil at a time and fry for about 3-4 minutes until the slices turn very light golden brown. The trick is not to over-fry the slices. Otherwise you will get brown cardboard. Not tasty. Having said that, remember that raw kolokasi cannot be eaten so ensure that the slices are cooked!
5. Remove from oil and place on a paper towel so that the towel can soak up any excess oil. Sprinkle with salt to taste while still hot. Leave to cool and enjoy with a dip of your choice!
And for those of you who are interested in the guacamole dip, here it is in very quick fashion:
ingredients
1/2 finely chopped red or green chile (seeds removed)
1 finely chopped small tomato (seeds removed)
1 ripe avocado
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 cup finely chopped coriander
salt to taste
pepper to taste
recipe
1. Mix together all ingredients in a bowl with a fork so that the mixture becomes smooth and enjoy!
