Maori foods
Taro first reached New Zealand with people from the tropical Pacific islands, many hundreds of years ago. The importance of taro may have varied depending on when and where other starchy plants - the introduced yam and sweet potato, and the native bracken fern - were used.
Very little has been published on traditional methods of using taro in New Zealand. Early written records of taro are not informative on this matter, and no detailed study has been made of methods still known in Maori communities.
The main observation that can be made, at present, is that both the corms and leaves are eaten, as in the Pacific islands generally.
Fuller, David (1978) Maori Food and Cookery. Reed: Wellington, Sydney, London (mentions taro briefly on p. 7 but gives no recipe).
Glenfield College Home and School Association (no date, c. 1982) Maori Cookbook. Glenfield College: Auckland (has interesting range of recipes from all over the Pacific Islands, including New Zealand; on p. 4 mentions taro as a food for Maori hangi; on p. 81, in section for New Caledonia, gives general recipe for cooking yam, potato, taro, or cassava/manioc with with coconut milk.
Paul, Joanna 1996 The Maori Cookbook. HarperCollins: Auckland (no mention of taro).