If you haven’t tried yuca fries, it’s a must! They are so delicious and have plenty of health benefits. We think they are way better than French fries. Crispy baked yuca fries are made from the cassava root, which really is an odd-looking tuber, but once you peel and cut it into steak fries, you wouldn’t even believe it’s the same vegetable.
Yuca fries are rich in calories and carbohydrates, but also loaded with vitamins A, B, and C! Yuca is also rich in fiber and, despite its higher carb content, has a lower glycemic index. And, they have antioxidant qualities. So far, so good … but, just be aware that you cannot eat cassava root raw. It must be properly soaked and boiled in order to remove toxins in the root.
Raw cassava root has cyanogenic glycosides, which can be converted into cyanide if not properly prepared. Luckily, removing these compounds is as simple as soaking and peeling the yuca and cooking it thoroughly. When the whole root has been cooked and it can be easily pierced with a fork, the root is safe to eat. This sounds scary, and you should be sure to read up on the cassava root and how to properly prepare it, but we have made yuca fries many times, and had no problems at all. When properly prepared, they are perfectly safe to eat and, in fact, are really delicious!
Because yuca root must be soaked and boiled, be sure to allow enough time to prepare it. We usually soak the roots for at least several hours or up to a day, and then peel them and, once we cut them into fries, we boil them for 15-20 minutes until knife tender. At this point, you can lay them out on a tray and freeze them for later consumption.
When you’re ready to bake them, lightly toss them in olive oil, season them with your favorite seasonings and bake at 425 F for 25-30 minutes, turning them once halfway through the baking. Serve them just as you would fries, with ketchup and mustard and you’ll be hooked!
We tried to measure how many fries a cassava root will yield, and this is quite variable, since cassava roots vastly vary in size. But, to the best of our determination, once peeled and cut, one pound of cassava root yields approximately 12-14 fries, each about 3 inches long. We recommend 3-4 fries per serving.
Crispy Baked Yuca Fries
Ingredients
- 1 cassava root 1 to 1 1/2 pounds
- 2-3 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 tsp. Peppercorn Perfection seasoning blend
Instructions
- The very first step, is to never eat the cassava root raw. It must be soaked and boiled to become edible.
- Now that you know that, cut off the ends of the cassava root.
- Soak the roots in water for several hours or overnight. (This helps when removing the outer skin of the root.) Remove the roots from the water and rinse thoroughly. Discard the soaking water.
- Peel remaining skins off the roots.
- Using a potato peeler, peel a very thin layer from the root and discard.
- Cut the roots into quarters lengthwise.
- Remove the very inner core from each of the cassava root quarters.
- Cut the cassava root quarters into large steak fry pieces.
- Boil yuca fries in a fresh pot of boiling water for about 15-20 minutes. Stirring them once or twice to get the ones on the bottom to the top, and vice verse. Test them at 15 minutes to see if a knife easily inserts into the fries. They should feel al dente and not mushy.
- Remove fries from the boiling water and strain through a colander. Once cool enough to handle, lay them out on a tray lined with parchment paper. Freeze for at least one hour before seasoning and baking.
- Any extra yuca fries can be stored in the freezer in an airtight container until ready to use.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 425 ℉. Remove fries from the freezer about 30 minutes before baking, and toss with olive oil. Season with lemon pepper, salt and pepper and whatever kind of seasoning salt you like best. Place back on the baking sheets and roast for about 25-30 minutes, or until golden-brown and crispy. Serve hot.
