Would you like to experience something new? I’m sure most of you are unfamiliar with cassava, also called yuca, aipim, or cassava. The edible part of this bizarre food, little known in our area, is represented by the tuberous roots of the Manihot esculenta Crantz plant, a typical plant of South America. There are two types of cassava: the bitter one (with smooth skin and leaves red) and the sweet one (with wrinkled skin and green leaves).
The consistency, as well as the flavor, are reminiscent of potatoes: not surprisingly, this root is rich in starch, while proteins are rather scarce. Due to its richness in terms of starch, gluten-free flour is obtained from cassava (called tapioca) which is used in cooking as a thickener. Alas, cassava does not stand out for the content of mineral salts and vitamins, almost negligible. Are you wondering how you can clean and cook? Let’s find out together!
Does
- Easy difficulty
- PORTIONS for4 people
- Preparation10 minutes
- Lowcost
Ingredients
- 500g of cassava
- Qb of salt
- To taste of pepper
- 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
- 1sprig of parsley
Materials Needed
- Chopping board
- Knife
- Casserole
- Cooking pan
- Scoop
Preparation
- Wash the cassava root, cut it into pieces of about 7-8 cm to obtain cylindrical shapes. Place the flat part of each cylinder on the work surface and, with the knife, remove the external part (brown) and the thin white band that wraps it internally (2 mm thick) to obtain only the pulpy part, which appears white and compact.
- Bring the water to a boil, avoiding adding salt.
- When it boils, gather the cassava pieces and cook for 15-20 minutes or until the pulp appears soft.
- Drain the cassava from the water: from each piece, remove the central cord (especially evident after cooking) as it is stringy and not pleasant on the
- At this point, the cassava can be quickly sautéed in a pan with a drizzle of oil, salt and pepper, and then served with aromatic herbs of your choice, such as parsley or chives.
