How to cook cassava (yuca)

What is cassava?

Cassava, also known as yuca, is a starchy root vegetable that is nutrient -dense,

mostly common in the tropical and African communities.

Cassava can be consumed boiled, fried or baked.

Here are short and simple recipes:

Fried cassava

Ingredients

- Fresh cassava roots (entirely white no black streaks)

- Cooking Oil

- Salt

-chili or other desired spices

1. Peel yuca and cut into lengthwise desirable pieces removing the core.

2. Into a pan, add some water, add the cassava pieces ensuring it is well covered in water and season with salt to taste.

3. Boil for 20 minutes or until tender.

4. After boiling, drain excess water and have it cool as it drains on a paper towel.

5. Into a pan, add about 2-3 inches of oil or enough to fry your amount of cassava pieces.

6. Let fry till golden brown on both sides.

7. Serve warm or cold.

8. To add to the taste, you can serve with some chili and lemon/lime.

Baked cassava

Ingredients

- Fresh cassava

- Cooking Oil

-Lemon or lime

-chili, cilantro and / or other spices of choice

1. Follow steps 1-4 above.

2. Once boiled to tender texture, bake the cassava.

3.Coat the cassava pieces with olive oil and put them in baking pan add spices as desired.

3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake for 20-25 minutes.

4. Serve warm or cold as a side dish or snack!

5. Add some chili pepper with lemon or lime squeeze, or garnished cilantro to taste.

Boiled cassava with coconut milk

Ingredients

- Fresh cassava

- Cooking Oil

- Salt

- Coconut Milk

- Spices as desired

1.Into a pan, add the chopped cassava pieces, salt to taste, (and other spices as desired) with the light coconut milk.

2. Cook until the milk is almost dry.

3. Add the thick coconut milk and let it cook for an additional 5 mins.

4.This can be served with a stew of choice (ex. beef stew), as a side dish or snack.

5.Some chili will add great taste.

Notes

• For chili, I like using cayenne pepper mixed with some salt.

• Light coconut milk is the diluted, while the thick coconut milk is undiluted.

• Boiled cassava can be with water only if so desired.

• You can use freshly grated coconut milk or canned coconut milk depending on availability.

• Raw cassava is poisonous as it contains naturally occurring cyanide that is harmful to ingest. This component is however made harmless by well cooking.

Health benefits of cassava

The following are just but some of the health benefits.

• Good source of resistant starch hence gut health

• Rich in vitamin C which supports immune health and collagen production.

• Source of magnesium

• Good source of energy

• Great source of fibre

This is a delicacy you sure want to try!