Coconut Leaf

Advice for New Cooks

First Catch Your

“The Fiji Times” is a very serious newspaper but even it was driven to a bout of unusual humour by the Checchi suggestion (see p. 45) that Fiji should give tourists a typical dish —like “fish cooked in coconut leaves”. We suspect that what the Americans meant was fish cooked in taro leaves, with coconut milk—a taro leaf being about 18 inches long while a coconut leaf is 10 feet. Under the heading “Coconut Frond Cookery” (and at the risk of being accused of un-American activities), ‘‘The Fiji Times” had this to say on the subject:

I American advisers to the ourist trade have told us to people “fish baked in coconut s.” This is an excellent dish an experimental cook), which is eldom seen on our tables, e fish and two coconut leaves be enough. ere is no difficulty about the but the leaves will require careful pulation. is not so much getting them the oven, as getting them into ;itchen. ose who lead with the feeble or end of the leaf mostly fail. >u should take the THICK end— >art that was joined to the tree— i it tightly to your waist, and smartly into the kitchen. The end follows, as do various orna ;s, side-tables, and teacups col d on the way.

Very, Very Carefully

ie second leaf, however, will have ;ar field for entry, ike the fish and wrap the leaves fully round it in all directions. ost fish seem to resent this, and to slither away. good plan is to take eight broom s, and stack them in the kitchen bivouacked rifles, when the fish be firmly wedged on top, and )ping undertaken with free hands. ou should start wrapping VAYS with the THIN end of i leaf, so that most of the work have been done when you come the awful business of wrapping i the thick ends. [any people (writes Aunt Betsy),

just forget about the last little inch or two, and leave them sticking out.

Do not pause in the wrapping pro cess, because coconut leaves are great unwrappers.

When the fish is fully wrapped, you can tie the bundle with wire, and carefully remove the broomsticks one by one.

Then give the bundle a good

Shake In An Up-And-Down

direction, when the fish will easily slide out and can be baked in a tin in the usual way.