Root of the Matter
Southern California chefs are experimenting with the versatility of that sticky, fibrous root vegetable known as yuca, cassava or manioc. Had I not relocated to Los Angeles from the East Coast, I might never have discovered its delights.
Unknowingly, I’d had yuca (pronounced yoo-kah) as a child in its processed form of tapioca. But my first cognizant experience with the vegetable as a side dish was at Cafe Colombia, an intimate little spot in Burbank, its walls hung with those plump-to-bursting images of corpulent Colombians painted by the Medellin-born Fernando Botero.
No doubt I resembled one of these after gorging myself on their yuca a la criolla. Long strips of the root had been boiled with the Colombian condiment triguisar, a mixture of spices including cumin and annatto, which turns the yuca’s white flesh yellow. The strips were then smothered with sauteed tomatoes and onions. The restaurant also serves a biscuit they call pandebono with a chewy center of cheese and yuca flower. The pastry’s unusual texture is not unlike the Japanese confection mochi, made from pounded rice.
Yuca, or Manihot esculenta, is native to Brazil, but it turns up in a variety of cuisines. The mild-tasting vegetable readily conveys the flavor of foods and seasonings with which it’s cooked while retaining a light, gummy texture. Although there are some bitter varieties of yuca that can be poisonous if eaten raw, the root is frequently and safely used throughout Latin America and the Caribbean as an alternative to the potato in both sweet and savory dishes. I’ve eaten yuca fries in Peruvian restaurants and slurped soups with yuca and shrimp in Ecuadorean establishments. Cuban eateries serve some of the best yuca. It’s drenched in garlic along with mounds of soft, shredded beef.
The Portuguese took the plant with them to Africa, where it’s used to make fufu, a glutinous ball of yuca--or cassava, as it’s more commonly known there--that is eaten with stew. European traders also introduced yuca to the Philippines and other parts of Asia.
Kevin Aksacki, the proprietor of Glendale’s Gauchos Village, serves a yuca and coconut cake made from his mom’s recipe that’s thick and moist with the consistency of sweet potato pie. Aksacki, 33, grew up on a farm 400 miles north of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and ate yuca daily.
“Sometimes we’d have it for breakfast,” he told me. “We’d boil chunks of them and eat with butter and coffee. Afterward, you wouldn’t get hungry for a long time.”
Despite yuca’s growing popularity, I’ve seen the root often mislabeled “yucca” in supermarkets. Yucca (pronounced yuck-uh) is that indomitable Southwestern plant known for its daggerlike leaves.
Blame or credit for this misspelling goes to Elizabethan botanist John Gerard, author of the 16th century tome, “Herball, or Generall Historie of Plantes.” Gerard’s editor, Thomas Johnson, noted the mistake in the 1633 edition of the book. Still, the name stuck, and the confusion continues to this day. Fortunately, yuca, by any other name, tastes just as savory.
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Bolo de mandioca (Yuca cake)
Adapted from a recipe by Kevin Aksacki, Gauchos Village
Serves 12
14-ounce can coconut milk
6 eggs
14-ounce can condensed milk
7 ounces shredded coconut
2 1/2 cups sugar
2 medium-sized yuca roots, peeled
Put condensed milk, eggs and coconut milk into blender. Blend two minutes until well mixed and pour into large mixing bowl. Cut yuca into halves and remove fibrous center. Shred in food processor using fine setting. Add shredded yuca and coconut to mixture. Stir well. Add 1/2 cup sugar.
To make caramel, melt one pound of sugar in a large skillet over medium low heat until golden brown. Using gloves, pour hot caramel into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with a circular motion until sides and bottom of dish are covered in caramel. If caramel sets up too quickly, put the baking dish in the oven for a few minutes to remelt it. Pour cake mixture over caramel. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.
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Stephen Lemons is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer.