Meatless Monday: Black Bean Dip & Yucca Chips

Black Bean Dip

I cooked a pot of black beans for this recipe (scroll to the bottom), but you can use canned black beans.

16 oz black beans, drained
1 small onion
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp fresh cilantro
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Place all the above ingredients in a food processor and blend 'til creamy. Garnish with cilantro and a drizzle of olive oil. Serve with Yucca Chips (see below).

Yucca Chips

You need a fresh yucca root for this not frozen
oil for frying
salt and pepper

Peel your yucca. Diagonally slice your yucca with a knife into thin slices. Be careful! I wasn't going to fry my yucca right away so I let the slices sit in a bowl of water with some lime juice and salt. Heat a skillet on high with about and inch of oil (I don't really measure, but enough oil to fry chips). Pat dry your chips (if they were sitting in water) and drop them into the oil in batches. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate, sprinkle with salt and pepper.















 To cook your black beans, wash a pound of dry beans in cold water and let soak overnight in enough water to cover 2 inches above the beans, (you can soak them in the pot you're going to use the next day). Now here is an old Cuban tip or is it a tip from an old Cuban? (sorry tia, I love you). Put a teaspoon of baking soda into the pot of beans and bring to a boil. The baking soda really helps to soften the beans nicely, but you will get a lot of foam which you will have to skim out – so have a bowl nearby and don't walk away from the beans at this point, or you'll have a big mess (look at the picture)! Once you've skimmed your beans, drop in 2 bays leaves, a drizzle of olive oil and about a teaspoon of salt (you can adjust the salt later). Bring the heat down to medium low, cover and let cook for about 2 hours. We are going strain 2 cups of beans for this recipe and you will have plenty leftover that you can freeze for another time to make soup or use in salads, etc.

Meatless Monday: Croquetas de Yuca

So, no... I did not make this up. Turns out this is quite common in the Colombian cuisine.

1 lb or more of frozen yuca (you can use fresh peeled yuca)
3 tbsp olive oil or butter
salt and pepper to taste
all purpose flour
2 eggs, beaten
bread crumbs
oil for frying

Boil your frozen yuca until tender. Strain and let cool. Remove the center root piece and any other hard pieces. Cut up into small pieces add your olive oil or butter and mash it. Add your salt and pepper to taste. You can used your hands to knead it into a ball making sure the oil and seasonings are distributed evenly. (Sorry, I did not get a picture of this step).

Line up three shallow bowls. In the first one pour some flour. In the second the beaten eggs with a bit of water, and in the third your bread crumbs (I used seasoned bread crumbs which is what I had on hand, but any bread crumbs or cracker meal will do). Using a tablespoon separate a small amount of yuca and roll it into a ball and then a cylinder. Coat it with your flour, then your egg wash, and lastly the bread crumbs. Place onto a plate. Repeat this process until you've used up all your mashed yuca.

In a heavy skillet heat about 1/2 inch of oil, fry your croquetas in small batches, regulating the temperature of the oil so that they don't brown too quickly. Transfer when golden brown to a paper towel lined plate. Serve as is or with your favorite dipping sauce.... in my case, Heinz Ketchup!

This was a very basic recipe. To your mashed yuca you can add ingredients such as garlic, parsley, pepper flakes, chives, etc or if you don't want to go meatless you can add bacon bits or chopped ham. Be creative.

Yucca Cheese Balls

A few weeks ago on a Sunday afternoon there was an emergency on our block. We had fire trucks and police cars, ambulances and EMT's. The whole neighborhood came out to see what was going on.

A couple of ladies from the block introduced themselves as they stared oddly at me. Where are you from one asked? Miami I answered. But you have an accent and you look Hispanic. Although politically incorrect, they seemed harmless. I was born in Cuba, I replied, but considering I learned to speak in Miami, my accent is from Miami. (I think people here have an accent). They seemed very excited to have met a Cuban. Yes ladeies, there is a Cuban on your block.

This is all very strange to me. Having only lived in Miami and Los Angeles, it is difficult for me to not blend in. There are so many Hispanics in Miami, and when I lived in Hollywood there were 108 languages spoken in my high school – we were all foreign.

I guess one's comfortable with what one is exposed to. This leads me to food of course. I found a yucca root at the local supermarket the other day which I promptly put in my cart. The checkout lady inspected it and asked what do you do with this?  I replied: Well, it's sort of like a potato but starchier and thicker in consistency, you can boil it, fry it, use it in soups and stews. The girl loading my bags made a face. Have you eaten it before? I asked her. Yes, I didn't care for it.

I sigh.

When my cousins were here a few weeks ago they asked me if I had ever made yuca rellena. Like a papa rellena they explained, it's yummy. After my misadventure with alcapurrias last week, I was a bit hesitant to try something new...again, but I am quite familiar with yucca so, what the heck. I didn't want to make it like a papa rellena, meaning I wanted to simplify things and not have to make a meat filling. I came across a recipe for yuquitas rellenas con queso. 

This was a good idea but it required frying twice, and I'm avoiding the calories. I researched further and found this recipe from Emeril for carimanolas which is a meat stuffed fried yucca.

I decided to take ideas from both

2 lbs yucca root
salt
olive oil
4 ounces cheese, cut into 1/4 inch cubes (use whatever cheese you prefer)
vegetable oil for frying

I used the following seasoning, but it is totally optional, you can season with salt and pepper or any other spices  you prefer.

Essence (Emeril's Creole Seasoning)

2 1/2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon dried leaf oregano
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon onion powder

(I didn't have the thyme or the onion powder)
Mix these ingredient together. I put it all in a bottle and shook.

Place yucca in a large pot with enough salted water to cover. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until tender, but not falling apart. (about 45 minutes). Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Using a potato masher, mash with a drizzle of olive oil. Mix in 1 1/2 tablespoons of the creole seasoning. (You can use your hands)

Take about a tablespoonful of the yuca mixture into your hands and roll into into a small ball. Using a finger (I used a measuring teaspoon), press a deep hole into the center of each. Insert your cheese into the center of each ball and gently work the yucca dough around it to completely enclose. (I made a couple with shredded mozzarella, but it was too messy. Non-shredded cheese is best)

Heat about 1 inch of vegetable oil. Add the balls in batches and cook until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Serve hot or at room temperature.

I only made a few since I was testing it (I refrigerated the rest). I found that these balls needed a cool dipping sauce. All I had on hand was ranch dressing, but I think some sour cream and chives would work well.

Cuban Buñuelos

Cubans will  make dessert out of anything.  My grandmother used to make a tomato dessert, my mom was famous for making dessert with grapefruit rind, dulce de toronjas, what a chore that was! But what dazzles me the most is making dessert out of yuca and malanga. I adjusted this recipe from Three Guys in Miami to fit my available midwestern ingredients....you can click here


Ingredients
2 cups ground yuca (one large yuca root)
2 cups ground potatoes (2 large potatoes)
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 egg yolks
2 cups flour sifted
1 tsp baking soda
vegetable oil for frying

Bring about five quarts of water to a boil. Peel the yuca and the potatoes and place in boiling water. Add lemon juice. Reduce heat to medium and cook until soft, but not mushy. Drain. Remove woody parts from the center of the yuca. In a food processor or food mill grind the cooked yuca and malanga until very fine a pasty. Remove any chunks.

Beat the egg yolks and blend in the salt, flour and baking soda. Add the ground yuca and potato. The dough should be thick enough to roll. Take about a tablespoon of the dough and roll on a l.ightly floured surface making a long strand. Twist it into a figure 8 or a small circle. See picture. (makes about 2 dozen, I refrigerated a batch for the next day)

Deep fry the dough pieces in hot oil until golden brown, light and fluffy.

Traditionally these are served with an anise syrup or they can be sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. I sprinked some with powdered sugar, and the rest we ate straight out of the fryer.

Yuca Frita: Yucca Fries

Hmmm, it seems like my last few posts have been all about fried food. I say why stop now? Let's make YUCCA FRIES.

Yuca (cassava) is a white starchy tropical root widely consumed in Afrida, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. Yuca is firmer than potatoes and starchier and can easily be substituted for potatoes in soups and stews. It is usually boiled or steamed, but also fried as chips or in thicker chunks (as shown here), and eaten as a substitute for french fries.

I have been able to find fresh yuca here in the summer, but more often than not, I find it in frozen packages. I am making my yuca frita from frozen, but I am placing a picture here of what it looks like fresh. If you find it fresh, you must first peal it and cut it into large chunks before boiling.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the yuca and boil until tender (when you can easily slide a fork into it). Strain the yuca and let cool on a paper towels to absord the moisture.  Remove the woody center by slicing the cooled yuca vertically. Cut your yuca into thick strips.

While the yuca is cooling we will prepare a mojo. 
To the juice of 2 limes (you can use lemons) add 2-4 cloves of pressed garlic and 1 tsp salt. Stir. Set aside.

Heat enough oil to deep fry your yuca strips. Fry the yuca in batches until they reach a golden brown. Place on a paper towel lined plate and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Hold in a warm oven while you fry the remaining batches.

You can now sprinkle the hot fried yuca with the mojo, or serve the mojo on the side for dipping.