Girl TALK- March 4/5-CONGRESS ChiIL
May 28 ----sUMertime Fest ChiIL
Ever tire of the same ol' same ol' starches and carbs? The potato, rice, pasta, or bread? Check this out-- Cassava. It's amazing, not just taste wise, but with the nutrients that it offers the body. Now I realize that at first glance this tuberous monster of an edible is frightening, and not forgetting to mention that if improperly cooked or even eaten raw you might/could/possibly/most likely will get really, really sick. More specifically having your body fall into a completely paralytic state, called Konzo, given that you are cooking absurdly huge amounts of this stuff and like an idiot, do it wrong every time. If people living in tents in Africa can do it.. so can you! I have faith. ha. The Cassava root is a staple in most South American, Caribbean, and African diets. A very tuberous, starchy, and slightly sweet root, the Cassava (Yucca) REQUIRES a temperature of at LEAST 80 degrees to even sprout. This explains why we in the U.S. don't hear about or use this root often, it's near impossible to grow north of the equator. It is classified as sweet or bitter depending on the level of toxic cyanogenic glucoside ( branch of the CYANIDE! family.) Don't be afraid though! When cooked properly this is delicious, gluten-free, and exciting!! Ever had one of those Asian smoothies with the weird balls in the bottom? Those weird chewy balls are called Boba and they come from Cassava! If you don't have a clue what i'm talking about, you are missing out! Tapioca pudding. MMM. Delicious but tooo familiar! The leaves can be sauteed-though they are near impossible to find in the U.S. you could get lucky though in an EXTREMELY authentic South American (BRAZILAN) market. Dumplings, mash, soups/stews, gravies, booze, biofuel, and even deep fried. So versatile! Soo useful! Give it a try, it'll be fun!!
When using just the root, you have a couple hundred ways to prepare it. But if you visited Jamaica you would most likely have it pancake style. And can I please say.. woah. These are Delicious! They are sweet, filling, and different. I have served these little sweeties with a jerked arctic cod and a spicy pineapple chutney. They are sweet, crispy, and very filling.
SWEET Cassava Pancakes
2 c. grated and boiled( in lightly salted water) Cassava root
1 c. Coconut milk ( slightly whipped)
1 egg
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1 teaspoon each salt/cinnamon
1/4 c. AP flour OR Tapica Flour
Honey to taste
Unsalted Butter ( for frying)
--Combine all ingredients, the batter should be very similar to pancake batter, if it is looking a little thin add some more flour, if it's looking a little heavy add a little more coconut milk or soy milk. Prepare just as you would a pancake! You can serve as a sidedish, or make the star of a great brunch. Try whipping some of the coconut milk up into a whip cream state and plop a small amount ontop of your cakes with some fresh fruit or nuts.
--Still feeling uneasy about using cassava? You can absolutely make this recipe just substituting rice ( the best is aborbio, normally used for preparing Risotto's, but brown rice works beautifully and it contains more nutrients!) prepare exactly as you would above.
Ceviched Jerk Arctic Cod
1 #lb. Arctic cod (line caught!) in1/2 in slices. Halibut, catfish, any firm white fish you desire
Zest of 3 Grapefruits, 1 lime, 1 lemon and juice of each
couple scotch bonnets ( depending on the amount of heat you want)
1 T. soy sauce
1 T. Orange juice
1 T. Vinegar
2 T. ground allspice
1 t. cumin
1 t. thyme
1/2 t. fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves
salt and pepper to taste
--Combine the zest and juices of citrus into resealable bag with sliced fish. Put into a lidded container and allow to marinate for 4-8 hours. Make sure to check on it every so often flip to evenly distibute marinade. When the fish is completely cooked, combine the jerk spice mix and put into bag with fish and allow to marinate for 30 minutes ( if you want ultra spicy, then you can add the jerk spice to the bag). Serve!
-Times the jerk spice recipe a couple times and make a reserve for later use!
-Feel free to substitute the peppers for others, scotch bonnetts are SPICY, so if you desire something more mild I suggest going wtih another maybe the lesser birds eye chili, cayenne, or even jalapeno.
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