Y Is For Yuca Root.

As you can see from my title,
this post will be about yuca root.

First, I will be making a tomatilla salsa as an accompaniment to the yuca.

On the right, I have my tomatillas.
On the left, assorted peppers from my garden.

I blackened all in under the broiler, then scraped the pepper meat off the charred skins and threw them, along with the tomatillas and some garlic, into the mini-processor.

Added in some onions and red peppers and cilantro and here's my tomatilla salsa.

Now on to the yuca root.
This particular yuca root is a product of Costa Rica.
It said so, right on the attached tag.

I prepared it according to the directions on the tag.

I peeled it, then cut lengthwise. At that point, the tag told me to remove core.
There was no core to remove.
So I just sliced it, put the slices in a pan, covered with water, brought to a boil, reduced heat, and simmered 20-30 minutes until tender.

At this point, I tried the cooked yuca.
It started out like you were going to think it was going to be a potato, except it wasn't.
The flavor is similar to a mild potato, but different.
The texture is different also.
The yuca is very starchy and fibrous.
As Mr. Hawthorne said, unlike a potato, when you bite into it, the yuca holds together.

One of the hardest things for me to do is to describe flavors.
The flavor was mild, potatoey, starchy.
Is starchy even a flavor?
I think not.

Sometimes less is more.
Just adding salt and pepper and butter at this point would probably be the best way to eat yuca.

I was heating up some butter and had a bit of browned butter.
I dipped a yuca bit into the browned butter and it was lovely.
I probably should have stopped here. Just added browned butter to it, some milk or cream, and salt and pepper and left it there.

However, I decided to veer from this comfortable course and follow one of Melissa's recipes, Yuca with garlic mojo.

Here, I have garlic, red pepper, green onions, and I opted for lime instead of Melissa's lemon.

Here's my boiled, drained yuca.

I sauteed the red peppers, garlic, and green onions in butter.

Added in the cooked yuca.

Added in some lime juice.

And some cilantro.

Here's the cooked and sauteed yuca with tomatilla salsa.

All I can say is, "Meh."

So, I tried to doctor it up.
Whisked two eggs along with a cup of milk.
Then grated cheddar cheese and Mozzarella.

Added the mozzarella to the yuca mixture.

Poured into a buttered dish.

Added in the egg/milk mixture seasoned with salt and pepper.

Cheddar on top.

Into a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Not bad. Not bad at all. Just not worth it.

You're welcome.
I did "Y" for you.
In three different ways.

Now, you don't have to eat this.

Although I may try it again just with browned butter drizzled over top and mashed with cream.

Cheese makes everything better.