Carrie's Merry Go Round

Wondering what these things are? Well, they're yuca roots. Back in 1995, when I went to Colombia, South America, I was served yuca. It looked a little strange on the plate and it took a little coaxing to take a bite. Everyone was laughing and saying who knows what in Spanish because I was chicken! But eventually I gave in and took a bite. Oh - My  - WORD! YUM! It's basically a very flaky and light potato. At least that's what I remember. Yesterday, it was "grocery store day" and lo and behold what was in my local Martins store - YUCA! Some were huge and others quite small. I selected a small root to experiment with. I have some green onion, cilantro and garlic that I think I am going to put on it for lunch. Below is a basic recipe:

Oven-Fried Yucca

Ingredients:

• 1 pound fresh yucca (cassava), cut into 3-inch sections and peeled (or 1 pound peeled frozen yucca)
• Nonstick cooking oil spray

Directions:

1. In a kettle, combine the yucca with enough cold water to cover it by 1 inch.
2. Bring the water to a boil, and slowly simmer the yucca for 20 to 30 minutes, or until it is tender.
3. Preheat oven to 350F.
4. Transfer the yucca with a slotted spoon to a cutting board, let it cool, and cut it lengthwise into 3/4-inch-wide wedges, discarding the thin woody core.
5. Spray cookie sheet with the nonstick cooking oil spray.
6. Spread yucca wedges on cookie sheet, and spray wedges with cooking oil spray.
7. Cover with foil paper and bake for 8 minutes.
8. Uncover and return to oven to bake for an additional 7 minutes.

Yield: 6 servings--Serving size: 1 piece (2 1/2 inches long)

Nutrition Facts
Per Serving:
Calories	91
Sodium	3 mg
Total fat	1 g
Saturated fat	0 g
Cholesterol	0 mg
Calcium	66 mg
Iron	3 mg