Oceania is the continent that I have struggled with the most for this project. Mostly because the cuisines of all the different island countries are so similar. They mostly consist of seafood, supplemented by some kind of root vegetable (taro, cassava, yam). Bananas and coconut are also popular. Besides the seafood, I enjoy all those things, but it makes it difficult for a project where I'm trying to find distinct dishes for each country.
This recipe for Kiribati is kind of similar to the one I made for Solomon Islands, but luckily different enough to stand on its own. I essentially took a recipe for "coco pumpkin" which is just chunks of pumpkin served with coconut milk spooned over it, and decided to make it into a more cohesive dish inspired by the cassava pudding I made for the Solomon Islands. It also takes some elements from "buatoro" which is grated taro and coconut. As a sidebar, some others doing a global food project seem to think buatoro contains SPAM and is a completely different dish from what I-Kiribati (the demonym for Kiribati) actually cook. In their defense, the online resources for the cuisine of Kiribati are incredibly scant.
For the pumpkin, I used kabocha squash which has a nice sweet flavor.
I shredded the squash so that it would cook quickly in a casserole but still provide some texture.
I then added mashed banana for a bit more sweetness and another layer of flavor. Bananas are also an important food source for many Pacific Islanders, so I figured it made sense here.
I then added coconut cream to round out the flavor and provide moisture and fat to bring everything together. As you might guess, coconut is also another important food source for those living in Kiribati and in other Oceanic island nations.
Once everything was mixed well, I dumped it all into a casserole dish and pressed it down quite a bit so the shredded squash formed a more cohesive mixture with everything else.
After baking, the top and sides were a lovely crispy golden brown. The sugars caramelized a bit to deepen the flavor but with the ingredients there was still a good vegetal flavor to it that made it not too sweet.
Once scooped out of the dish, I decided to top it with some cinnamon and shredded coconut just for a bit more flair, both visually and taste-wise.
Overall I think it was a pretty successful dessert that represented the flavors of Kiribati fairly well, even if it wasn't an authentic recipe from the islands.
Recipes: Sweet Coco Pumpkin // Cassava Pudding
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