This boiled Yucca recipe is South Florida inspired where there's a huge number of Spanish population and I'm glad because I like my boiled Yucca the way they make it - Spanish style.
Before we make this boiled Yucca recipe, let's talk about this amazing crazy root for a bit.
Growing up as a kid in the Philippines, I used to eat this root they call Yucca in Spanish here in South Florida. In the Philippine Islands we call this root Cassava or Bilanghoy or Kamoteng Kahoy.
Kamote means yam and Kahoy means wood. It's yam that looks like wood. Crazy huh?
This root is very starchy and they are actually used to make Tapioca, you know, those little yummy marble pearly type things that sink at the bottom of your icy refreshing bubble teas. Gosh, I hope to God we're getting the real tapioca and not the imitation ones!
The food system is really sneaky, you know how they are. If you let them, they'll kill you ever so slowly with food-like-food infused with chemical shitstorm.
Yucca or Cassava is a plant that grows in warm climates. The young leaves are also edible. We used to cook them in coconut milk as well with spices like lemon grass, garlic and the whole bit.
When these yucca or cassava plants mature, the roots are harvested and cooked in so many different ways from main meals to side dishes and desserts like the ever yummy cassava cake! They're also grounded and dried to make flour as well.
Peel the cassava skins off. They should come off easy using a pairing knife. Rinse them and put them into a large pot.
Add the coconut milk and seasonings. Add more water just close to covering the entire chunks of Yucca. Bring to a boil.
Check to see if they're done by piercing a fork into one of them. Add the red onion slices and stir well.
Remove from heat and serve warm.
It's a great side dish in place of mashed potatoes for a change. My mother used to make this and she called it 'Pinakro' in Bicol Philippines. This dish is a vegetarian Spanish food with Filipino flair. We love to cook everything in coconut milk Bicol style.
It all makes sense. The Spanish and the Filipinos have so much in common when it comes to food. The Philippines was colonized by the Spaniards many moons ago and brought upon some culinary awesomeness.
So if you haven't tried it yet, make this boiled yucca recipe already. Put the mashed potatoes aside for a while. Introduce this Spanish ethnic food to your table.
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