Yuca Fries

Yuca, yucca root, or cassava is native to Brazil and the tropical areas of the Americas.  It’s widely grown all over Latin America and the Caribbean and is essential in Caribbean cuisine. It is a brown root about two inches in diameter and eight inches in length. The flesh is white, starchy, and fibrous. Because yuca bruises easily, it is found with a waxy, protective coating applied. It is easy to peel with a regular vegetable peeler. Peel yuca one at a time and immediately immerse in cold water to prevent the white flesh from discoloring.

Yuca can be cooked in a variety of ways including boiling, baking, and frying. The key to cooking yuca is to cook it long enough to break down the fibrous tissue. I chose to make fries with my yuca with a chipotle aioli dipping sauce. This is definitely not the traditional sauce but it's what I chose. Yuca fries require cooking twice like good French fries, except with yuca fries, the first cooking is by boiling. If you don't par-cook the yuca before frying, the outside will be burned before the inside will be cooked. Perfect yuca fries will have a crispy exterior and creamy interior. I have eaten yuca in the Caribbean and have cooked them once before, so when I saw them in the market today, I knew I had to get some. Here they are draining on paper towels after boiling but before frying. They are still a bit stringy here and not done yet. That is exactly the way you want them. You can also peel the yuca, cook it whole, then cut into fries after cooling. I did some research and decided that cutting them into fries before boiling was the way to go. The yuca itself is rather bland and tasteless but makes the perfect vehicle for salt and a spicy sauce.