I have had several conversations lately regarding eating the noni tree and the pros and cons of eating its leaves. Unfortunately, there does not seem to be much research out there on noni in general and leaves in particular. These are two good sources with general overviews of the tree, but not much on the leaves:
Compendium of Forgotten Foods in Africa: A Companion Publication for Integrating Africa’s Forgotten Foods for Better Nutrition | ECHOcommunity.org
Morinda citrifolia | ECHOcommunity.org
I’m curious what the ECHOcommunity knows: do you know of anyone doing research on eating the leaves? I have been eating them and know anecdotally of others eating them. This is a good source for considering whether it would be good for your specific health (apparently they are very high in potassium):
Noni: Usefulness and Safety | NCCIH
If you decide to join me in eating them, I did come up with a new recipe for eating them! Some folks have told me that they taste bitterness in the leaves - I do not, so I’m not sure if that is an age of the leaves thing and I’ve only eaten the good leaves or if it’s something like cilantro where some folks like it and others taste soap. My current theory is that the older the leaf, the more bitter it is. So, when picking leaves to eat, I go for the younger, less hardened off leaves. This Youtube video has a great recipe for steamed noni leaf rolls which was a big part of my inspiration for the following recipe.
1 QR Electricity
Ingredients:
- 1/2 lb of sausage
- 2 carrots (thinly sliced or grated)
- 1 cob of corn (cut kernels off)
- 1/2 of 1 scotch bonnet pepper, chopped
- 1/2 of one large green skinned avocado (perhaps one whole small Hass), diced
- 3-6 green onions, chopped
- 4 Tablespoons (heaping) of flour
- 1 rod of lemongrass, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1 inch of ginger, chopped
- roughly 2 teaspoons salt
- dash of pepper
- dash of soy sauce
Chop ingredients listed above and combine in mixing bowl. Combine lemongrass, garlic, ginger, in mortar and pestle and mash. Add to bowl and use hands to mix all ingredients well. Add flour as needed to make the mixture just hold together when spooned out. Spoon 1-2 spoonfuls of mixture into 2 noni leaves and wrap. Use toothpicks or small pieces of thin bamboo to hold together. Wrap however you’d like or find easiest, as you can see I did a number of different ways.
Now you have a choice: to steam or bake. If steaming, approximately 25 minutes should do it (be sure to check the sausage is fully cooked before eating). The leaves will stay wrapped but be fully wilted and cooked. If baking, the texture will be crunchier (I recommend only wrapping in one leaf, 2 leaves will make it difficult to bite). I’m still working on an exact baking time, but it took our rolls about 25-30 minutes to fully cook the sausage.
I preferred the steamed, my husband preferred the baked! In the photo, the steamed wraps are more square and the rolled wrap was baked. Serve hot with rice and soy sauce! It went well with sautéed and salted opuntia (prickly pear) as seen in the picture.
What are some ways that you like to use noni leaves or fruit?