Kuru Salad (Cook Islands Breadfruit Salad)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large 6-quart pot
• •Wide tray for cooling the breadfruit
• •Large wooden bowl or carved kumete for serving

Instructions

1. 1

   Trim the kuru

   Cut the breadfruit into quarters, trim away the stem, and cut out the pale center core. Peel off the green skin with a sturdy knife, then cut the flesh into big chunks. Work clean and steady; the sap can be sticky, so oil your knife lightly if it wants to grab.

2. 2

   Boil until tender

   Put the chunks in a pot, cover with water, add the tablespoon of sea salt, and bring to a steady boil. Cook 25 to 35 minutes, until a knife slides through the kuru clean but the pieces are not falling apart. This is where you respect the crop: soft enough to eat, firm enough to hold the bowl.

3. 3

   Cool and cube

   Drain the kuru well and spread it on a tray until it cools to room temperature. Cut it into bite-size cubes, about one inch. If you dress it while it is too hot, it drinks everything too fast and turns heavy. Let it breathe first.

4. 4

   Make the dressing

   Whisk the lime juice, oil, honey or sugar if using, a good pinch of salt, and black pepper until glossy. For a richer bowl, whisk in the coconut cream too. Fresh coconut cream is beautiful here, but a good thick can does the job on a weeknight.

5. 5

   Fold the salad

   Put the cooled kuru in a wide bowl with the cucumber, tomato, red onion, green onion, and bell pepper. Pour over the dressing and fold gently with your hands or a broad spoon, so the breadfruit stays in clean pieces and the vegetables stay crisp.

6. 6

   Rest and serve

   Let the salad sit 10 to 15 minutes, just long enough for the lime and salt to settle into the kuru. Taste again before serving. It should be bright, lightly glossy, and clean, with the breadfruit still tasting like itself. Lay it out family-style beside grilled fish, chicken, or whatever the table has that day.

Chef Tips

• •Choose firm-mature breadfruit, green to yellow-green outside and heavy for its size. If it is very soft and sweet-smelling, save that one for a sweeter preparation.
• •No breadfruit where you live? Eat what you have. This is a Cook Islands kuru salad, so the true crop is kuru, but for a practical table you can use firm cooked ʻulu from a Pacific market freezer before you give up on the dish.
• •Keep the dressing light. Kuru has its own clean starch and a gentle nutty taste; too much mayonnaise or too much oil can bury it.
• •This bowl belongs beside the grill without turning the deep foods into a performance. Fish, chicken, sausages, plate lunch, whatever the family is actually eating, the kuru can sit there easy.

Advance Preparation

• •Boil and cube the kuru up to 1 day ahead, then cover and refrigerate. Bring it back toward room temperature before dressing so the salad does not taste flat.
• •Dice the vegetables a few hours ahead and keep them chilled, but fold them in close to serving so they stay crisp.
• •Dress the salad 10 to 30 minutes before eating. After a few hours the breadfruit softens and the vegetables give off water.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 250g)