Taro Pavé

Alooooha y’all! I hope everyone is having an amazing day. Today I wanted to make something with taro. I remembered a dish that I had made with my mentor, Chef Courtney, a while ago called a pavé. It is basically thinly sliced potatoes, cooked in the oven with cream & butter until soft, then weighed down for several hours until it’s a nice firm cake. The loaf is sliced into pieces and fried in a pan, resulting in a potato bite that’s visually pleasing with a crispy exterior and a soft creamy interior. I decided to go with coconut milk since that is what I carry in the house, but any plant milk can work just fine. Now let’s get cooking!

The humble ingredients. Chaokoh is my favorite brand of coconut milk! You can find taro at most Asian or African markets.

Season your coconut milk with salt and pepper.

Slice the taro on a mandolin for best results. Some food processors also have a slicing option, so if you are fancy you can use that as well.

I cut my finger slicing the taro. Battle scars, I suppose. Do the right thing and use a cut glove or the guard your mandolin comes with! Finger cuts are no fun.

Slicing the taro directly into the coconut milk prevents the taro from oxidizing as well in addition to providing some richness to the dish!

Assemble your sliced taro, butter, S&P, and your baking pan. Mise en place is important! Layer the taro in the pan, seasoning with S&P and a couple dabs of butter every two layers.

After you have used up all of the taro, fold the parchment paper over the top, cover with foil and bake at 350•F for 1 hour, or until very tender.

Beautiful chef’s kiss. When it’s done cooking, weigh the loaf down with another loaf pan and something heavy, like a few cans of beans. Let it cool for several hours or overnight.

Turn the pavé onto a cutting board and cut into pieces. The size doesn’t really matter but I like bite-size pieces.

Fry those bad boys up! I like using garlic and thyme for extra flavor, but that is totally optional. These taste great without them.

After they were done cooking, I added some miso compound butter I had made from a private dinner a little while back. It’s so goood!

The finished product!

Mahalo for reading, until next time~

Taro Pavé
Makes 16-20 pieces

Taro - 1lb.
Coconut milk - 1/2 cup
Salt and Pepper - to taste
Butter, cut into cubes - 1/4 cup
Canola/Olive oil
Thyme - 3 springs (optional)
Garlic - As many as you want??(optional)

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Season coconut milk with salt and pepper. Peel and thinly slice taro with a mandolin, knife, or food processor attachment. Add to coconut milk and stir to combine.

Butter a 9x5” pan and line with parchment paper. Layer taro slices evenly in the pan. Lay the second layer down and season with S&P and a couple dabs of butter. Repeat process until all of the taro is used up. Fold parchment over taro and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 1 hour, or until very tender.

Remove from oven and place a second 9x5” loaf pan on top of pavé. Add some weight to pan (cans of beans, dumbbells, whatever) and let cool overnight.

When you’re ready to eat, turn the pavé out onto a cutting board, and slice into 16-20 pieces. Heat some oil in a pan on medium heat. Once hot, add the pieces, cut side down, as well as the garlic and thyme, if using. Cook until golden-brown on both sides. Season with salt to taste and enjoy!