Xanthosoma sagittifolium, the arrowleaf elephant ear or arrowleaf elephant's ear, is a species of tropical flowering plant in the genus Xanthosoma, which produces an edible, starchy tuber.

Cuisine and reforestation

In Colombia, it is called bore, in Costa Rica tiquizque or macal, in Mexico mafafa, in Nicaragua quequisque, and in Panama otoy. In Brazil, the leaves are sold as taioba. The tuber (called nampi or malanga) is also used in the cuisine of these countries. The plant is often interplanted within reforestation areas to control weeds and provide shade during the early stages of growth.

In Puerto Rican cuisine, it is called malanga or yautía. In Puerto Rican pasteles, yautia is ground with green bananas and plantains into a dough-like fluid paste containing pork and ham, and boiled in a banana leaf or paper wrapper.

In the Spanish Caribbean, the plant and its corm are called yautia. The yautia corm is used in stews, soups, or simply served boiled much like a potato. It is used in local dishes such as pasteles, alcapurrias, sancocho, and mondongo. The Dominican version of this dish may also contain either ground beef or shredded poultry. In alcapurrias, it is also ground with green bananas and made into fried croquettes containing ground beef or the mixture of chopped ham and fresh pork used in pasteles. Sancocho is a soup and mondongo is a stew. Yautia is also consumed as purée in some instances.

In Suriname and the Netherlands, the plant is called tayer. The shredded root is baked with chicken, fruit juices, salted meat, and spices in the popular Surinamese dish, pom. Eaten over rice or on bread, pom is commonly eaten in Suriname at family gatherings and on special occasions, and is also popular throughout the Netherlands.

References

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