Yuca Fries
Every time I eat yuca fries I wonder why I even bother with regular french fries. The texture is very different from potatoes and they have a slightly sweet flavor which lends itself perfectly to freshly squeezed lime and salt. That's it. Simple, crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside and utterly perfect.
Yuca is a fibrous tuber that has it's origins in South America but it made it's way north into Mexico and the American Southwest. The yuca is cultivated throughout Africa as one of the largest sources of carbohydrates for sustenance.
All this and oddly enough yuca can be poisonous when it's raw. Not to worry, it's easy enough to cook them properly. Boiling them will eliminate any cyanogens and we're going to fry these bad boys too!
Ingredients
- 1 large yuca
- vegetable oil for frying
- salt to taste
Garnish
- lime wedges
Directions
- Start by setting a pot of salted water on the stove to boil. Meanwhile, peel the waxy skin off the yuca with a vegetable peeler. It should be stark white underneath with no funky spots.
- Cut the yuca into fry size pieces. Mine were roughly 1/2" x 1/2" x 4" but it's not an exact science. We're chefs right now. Bakers are the ones that are "all OCD and junk."
- Boil the yuca for 30 minutes until they are muchly tender but not falling apart. If the yuca are hard they will stay hard even after you fry them. Drain them and set them aside on a kitchen towel to dry. It'd be a bad idea to toss wet yucca into hot oil, especially if you're not wearing a shirt. Wearing a... Hey! Put on a shirt! This is a family show. Sheesh.
- Heat the oil in a pan to 375 degrees while the yuca is drying. Fry the yuca in batches with a shirt on until it's golden brown and crispy on the outside. Transfer each batch to a paper towel lined plate. Sprinkle salt and a squeeze of lime on each batch.
- Serve with a lime wedge. Put ketchup on these if you must but I'd look at you like a pig looks at a rack of ribs. It's practically sacrilegious. It's like putting ketchup on a hot dog. Ack, I just shivered. The french fry gods will not be pleased.
Comments (4)
I'm with you - yucca fries are WAY better than potatoes!
Never tried yucca...don't even think I've seen it in stores around here. Where do you get it?
You can get it in most supermarkets. They're really long and narrow. They have a bumpy, brown, waxy skin. I usually see them in the produce cooler near the greens. You'd certainly be able to get them in a farmers market. I'll send you a picture.
Matt, these were really good. I had a bit of trouble getting the fries to cook consistently across the batch but that's my own problem with cutting them and not your recipe.
Thanks for sharing this.