"yucca" news and stories

Yucca Fries. Photo: The Skinny Chef

Yucca Root, also called cassava, is a waxy root vegetable that grows in Southern America, Mexico and the Caribbean. Traditionally, yucca is cooked the same way as white potatoes, but has a denser texture which lends itself well to making breads like Columbia's cheesy, soft pandebono rolls and desserts, like yucca coconut.

I love that it's high in fiber and acts as a powerful anti-inflammatory to helps to ease arthritis pain, but it also possesses a mellow flavor that is great for a twist on classic American recipes like good old French fries. The root is incredibly hard with it's raw, so I strip the skin with a potato peeler before cutting the flesh into sticks. Steaming yucca before adding it to the skillet is a must and helps maintain a soft, starchy inner texture while the outside get crispy and golden.

Get Jennifer's Yucca Fries and Cilantro Mayonnaise recipes after the jump.

If you devour Terra chips and wonder why potatoes are the only veggie that gets such beloved treatment, or if you love everything fried, you must try yuca fries.

Yuca is that large, kinda scary looking vegetable that pops up all over the place now, but still isn't getting its culinary due. It's starchy, full of good calcium, and even a taste of Vitamin C -- basically a sweeter sort of potato with a slightly different flavor and texture. Unfortunately, it's not quite as easy to prepare as our ol' potatoes. The skin is much firmer, and cutting it is more like a butternut squash than a potato.

Nevertheless, when you throw it into some hot oil, then spray it with salt and seasoning, it's french fries with a twist -- familiar enough that it's almost like old-hat, with a new and fresh flavor that ups the ante. Since it's quite a firm root, yuca is often boiled first, although the above fries were just thrown raw into some oil cooking away on med-high heat until they were crunchy. And of course, like potatoes, they can be made into some rather tasty chips.

As an eating and cooking culture, we're super-glued to our potatoes, and with good reason: They're delicious, versatile, and easy to prepare. But even as great as the taters are, sometimes other roots need their time in the spotlight.

Roasted chicken with fried yucca root was the obvious winner for judges at the Food Network's Ultimate Recipe: Chicken Showdown (just so we're clear, the contestants were battling it out, not the chickens). Grand Prize Winner Amparo Alam of Syracuse, Utah, swept the competition, winning 99 out of a possible 100 points for her original dish.

The recipe, listed here, uses ajies (Peruvian chilies) and huacatay (a Peruvian herb) to enhance the flavors of both the bird and the veggie.

Other category winners included Eboni Williams' Battered Chicken Wings with Pomegranate and Mango BBQ Sauce and Lauren Wyler's Chicken, Tasso, and Andouille Gumbo.

What do you think? Do these recipes sound good to you? Or could you do better? Put your money where your mouth is and submit your recipe by March 31 for the next competition.

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