Gastronomous

I was curious about this ingredient, and puzzled by how it could be cooked and how it tasted. In one of my daring moods, I bought a package of frozen yucca from my grocery store. What  was there to loose other than $3 and some time?

I knew it’s a starch and staple food for many nations. It is also known as cassava and knew it could be pounded in to flour, and that it is what makes up tapioca, but.. how does it taste?

Of course I could have just fried it, but ( almost) anything tastes acceptable fried. No, I had to think and let my imagination run. It’s funny how an image can spark a totally different idea, the frozen yucca package had cooked slices of yucca  resembling french fries, ketchup and all. So I thought : potatoes! Could the taste and texture substitute for potatoes?  Could they also be roasted? boiled? mashed?

I started by boiling the whole package in water with a bit of salt. After 30 minutes the yucca had nice texture, a creamy color and… BLANDEST OF TASTES! That’s OK, it’s a blank canvas.. a VERY blank canvas!

My first attempt was to make a small batch of a tapioca-like dessert. Armed  with a hand-held blender, cane sugar, orange liquor. After mixing, and proportioning and hoping that it would taste a tad better once cold, the idea was tossed ( together with the mix) down the garbage disposal. Lets go savory.

I took another small batch ( about the equivalent of a large potato) and chopped it into squares. Immediately the idea of a tapas came around. I mixed it  with egg, onions and lovely spices in a saute pan and.. yes! the incredibly tasty and velvety texture of the yucca frittata was born.

Ingredients:

1 cup boiled yucca, cut to 1/2 inch cubes
3 eggs beaten
1 small onion chopped
3 springs fresh sage
2 Tbls olive oil
1/4 tsp coarsly ground white pepper
salt to taste

Heat the oil in a 8 inch saute pan and brown the onions, add the yucca and slighly stir. Make sure you are set to medium heat. Add the pepper, salt, stir then the eggs and carfully mix so that it reaches the bottom of the pan and all the edges. Once it has reached that point DO NOT STIR and let cook for 3 minutes ot untill you can shake the pan and see that the frittata is starting lo get loose.

Get a large flat plate and slide the frittata on it. Place the pan on top of the dish and flip. Now place the frittata back on the heat and cook for 2 more minutes.

Slide ( or flip) on to serving dish, top with fresh sage and enjoy!