Do you know how to cook yuca? Working with yuca for the first time can be intimidating. Its waxy brown skin and oblong shape make this tropical root vegetable, also known as cassava, seem impenetrable.
The truth is prepping and cooking yuca is way easier than working with more familiar vegetables like artichokes or butternut squash.
In Puerto Rico (where my family hails from) there are two main ways of cooking yuca and you'll find them below. However, keep in mind that this delicious root vegetable is as versatile as potatoes, so it is cooked in many other ways across Latin America. It is Brazil’s main staple, resulting in a proliferation of recipes and forms for preparation, such as farofa, tapiacoas, and the crunchy, cheese-filled spheres of pao de queijo. Next door in the Bolivian lowlands, a popular street snack is sonso de yuca, which are skewers of mashed yuca mixed with cheese and grilled until crispy. Yuca’s repertoire is endless, which is not surprising as it is the third-largest source of carbohydrates people’s diets worldwide.
Here are some tips to get you started:
HOW TO PEEL YUCA
The best way to tackle yuca's tough skin is with a knife and not a vegetable peeler. Start by washing and drying the yuca then cut into pieces that are three to four inches long. Lay each piece of yuca cut side down on a cutting board then gently slice off the skin. Cut each portion in half lengthwise or in quarters, depending on the thickness of the vegetable. This step is key, because yuca actually contains the poison cyanide to protect it from insects. The cyanide can be removed by peeling, combined with boiling, cooking, or fermenting, after which it’s perfectly edible.
