I know this post looks long because of all the pictures, but I assure you, these tasty yuca fries are easy to make. I just wanted to show you each step, since most of you probably haven’t worked with yuca before. The skin looks quite serious, but it’s not as tough as it looks. Yuca has many of the same vitamins as potatoes, but it is starchier, so it crisps up very nicely.
1 yuca
1 TBS extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
1. Bring medium pot of water to a boil. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Peel yuca with vegetable peeler. Cut off ends and discard. Cut yuca into ~3 inch sections.
3. Boil sections for 12 minutes, or until the center of each section begins to split.
4. Slice each section in half, following the central cleave. Remove the thin stalk you’ll find running along the length of the yuca.
5. Cut into wedges, or shape of your choice. Brush lightly with olive oil and spread over a cookie sheet.
6. Bake for 10 minutes, turn and bake 12 minutes more. Salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!
what a great post – thanks for the step-by-step yucca instructions! i’ve had yucca once in a restaurant – mashed, and i loved it. i always see them in the store and am a bit intimidated by them. no longer will i be intimidated – i know just how to handle them now! thanks! your baked yucca fries look perfect! mmmmmmmm!
Mmm, I’ve never tried yucca before but it really sounds delicious! Thanks for all the step by step pictures, now when I see one at the store I will pick one up =)
Oh man, these were so good..(possibly good enough to rival my love of potatoes *gasp*…well, maybe come in a close second). I just got back from the store and bought two more to make yucca chips for the New Year’s festivities. I would have been intimidated too had Jo not showed me how to conquer the yucca beast!
I’ve never even heard of Yucca, I’ll have to look out for it the next time I’m at the markets. Is it a winter only vegetable?
I saw yucca on a cooking show once but haven’t seen it around, do you happen to know if WF generally carries it Sara? I’ve been wanting to try them for months! These look so good!
Hell yeah, yucca fries! These are one of my favorite foods, but I never make them at home. I just opt for fried green plantains to scratch the same itch. I love getting them at this little Peruvian restaurant that serves them with salsa criolla. Yummy!!! Now that I’ve got a step-by-step, I’m going to have to try making them.
Jewel: They are native to hot, arid climates in North and Central America and the West Indies. So down under, they would be considered “exotic” perhaps? It might also be listed as cassava or manioc, but they should be available – I didn’t find anything regarding a particular season.
Nik: Yep, Whole Foods does indeed have them. That’s where I got mine yesterday. You certainly have to hunt for them – there won’t be a big pile of them like potatoes, maybe just a handful stashed somewhere.
Any local Latino supermarket will have them for a lot less than wholefoods.
I’m making these right now, great recipe. Thanks!
Thanks for the info Tati!! And let us know how the fries turn out for you!!! 🙂
I just made these tonight and they we delicious! Thanks for the recipe beautiful lady. – H
I made these 2 more times and they were awesome!
This is a great post! I love yuca frita, and I’ve been wanting to make it. But, I’ve always been nervous about purchasing yucca, because I don’t know how to handle it. Fear not! I will be frying some up at my next fiesta! Your pictures will guide me through.
Just an FYI, Sara noted that yucca is native to hot dry areas of the West Indies North, South and Central America, which is true according to Wikipedia and other sources, but the plant(root) you all are referring to is more correctly spelled YUCA, also known as manioc, or cassava, a plant native to South America, the Carribean and West Africa of the Euphorbia genus, also grown in hotter dry locations.
The native yuccas of the American continents does not have the typical fleshy root that we are familiar with at Whole Foods and Latin American specialty food stores, but more stringy roots, with edible seed pods and flowers with those sharp-pointed leaves that stab you when you’re walking through the desert.
Now we’re all really confused. Read further in Wiki and the difference is explained in better detail
Thanks Thomas for the clarification (yuca vs yucca) – a shining example of how the use of common names can create confusion and misinformation being perpetuated, taxonomically speaking. In fact, Yucca is a separate genus altogether from Euphorbia (in which the delicious tuber is found), and contains one of my favorite plants – the agave. Though, I do believe we were all talking about the same item of food – the fleshy tuber found at the market, however our misusage of the scientific common names listed in supermarkets. In culinary terms, yucca=yuca(root)=Brazilian arrowroot=tapioca=cassava…yada yada
Thanks for the correction, Thomas. I’m a notoriously bad speller, especially with homonyms. Toss in some cultural confusion and I had no chance :). I’ve corrected the spelling to the accurate “yuca” (even though my spell checker doesn’t like it).
Thank you for the clarification because I was confused. Had some awesome yuca (not yucca) fries at a local restaurant & was looking up recipes online. Have seen plenty of yucca plants due to living in CO and I knew the root was edible – I guess I assumed that’s what I’d eaten. (Should never assume). I didn’t know about yuca though! 🙂 What a huge difference one little “c” makes.
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This is a great tutorial! I’m going to try it with my odd-looking yucca!
Ohhh … I am definitely giving this a try tonight. I have been wondering for a while why they even sell these in the store :-).
So I made these and they are quite delicious. But I have to include a word of warning. Cassava (or yuca, or manioc) contains cyanogenic compounds harmful to your health. The bitter roots contain as much as 1g/kg of fresh root, the sweet one only 20 mg/kg. It is suggested that you throw away your boiled root if it still tastes bitter. Apparently, 40 mg dose of pure cyanogenic glucoside (from yuca) is apprently enough to kill a cow. To me, that is a sufficient reason to be cautious – I found a FAO website that suggests boiling cassava root for 30-40 minutes and throwing away the cooking water. I boiled mine for 30 minutes, then followed by 10+12 min baking. They turned out awesome and will start regularly substituting cassava for potatoes or turnip. So again, thanks for the recipe …. but I would suggest boiling them for perhaps longer than 12 minutes. Also it is a strong goitrogenic food, so beware if you have these kinds of problems. Cheerio.
I live in Panama now (retiree from the US) and have been exposed to many great dishes here. I have made fried (in coconut oil) yuca and so far have not parboiled them – and I am still alive – I am trying the oven fried version now because my husband wants to reduce the fried foods we have been consuming – platanos, guineos, yuca, bollas – so many to name. The yuca can get HUGE here and my ‘source’ is a friend’s parents’ finca – no pesticides, no big farms. I am oven frying the yuca tonight for the first time. Thanks for an alternative.
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Thanks for the info. I will see how this works out on the Weight watchers points. If anyone knows please let me know. Thanks in advance
Hey! Great recipe and photos. I had Yucca fries today and wanted to include your recipe in my blog. I am new to the blogging world so i hope it is ok that I spread the word about your post. 🙂
Check out my adventures in Chile at travelcrumb.wordpress.com
Thanks!
It’s totally great Shauna – share as much as you like! 🙂 And thanks for the link to your site..looks fun!
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[…] texture and flavor to the dish. I served it up dressed, on a bun, with yuca fries I made using this recipe. If you’re not familiar with yuca, try it sometime. These require a bit more preparation than […]
Yucca came out delicious! Love this recipe! So glad I didn’t give up on it! Other recipes with fried onion and garlic, made it too hard to digest. This recipe, is just perfect! Thank you
Just followed your recipe exactly with the exception of the fact that I completely omitted the oil. They turned out fantastic. Thanks so much for this very easy to follow tutorial. YUM!!
Made these for my adventurous 2 year old to the tune of “more yucca!” Never could have figured it out without these fabulous directions. 2 years later, these are still the best directions I’ve seen online.
George
I’ve cooked yucca before by boiling 20 minutes with a little sugar to take out the bitterness and then mashing them or eating them as they came out boiled. This recipe is great. Not too differcult. I had some as a desert from a healthfood store in Mocha, PR a few years back and it had a sweet sauce on it and was delicious. Tonight your fries came out perfect and we sat down and ate them all after just finishing a big dinner. Thanks so much.