Easy and Healthy Cassava Recipes

Cassava is a tuber from America that has spread all over the world thanks to its great culinary potential. Not only does it have many nutrients, but it’s also very versatile when it comes to cooking. Now, you must be thinking about what recipes with cassava can you prepare at home. Before we look at the best-known and most popular recipes, let's talk about why cassava is such an interesting ingredient.

Woody in appearance, this tuber is covered by a hard brown skin that is not edible. It’s the white flesh that can be eaten. However, this has some vertical fibres that should be removed first. Cassava has also been an essential food in many countries for millions of years, so much so that it has been compared with potatoes, yams and tiger nuts. In continents such as Asia and Africa, it’s a basic ingredient for more than 50% of the population and, although its consumption in the West is not as common, there is much to be gained from it.

Recommended for stomach ulcers, gastritis or colitis, yucca has astringent properties and a high starch content (90%) as well as being rich in carbohydrates, vitamins C, K and B group, and essential minerals such as zinc, magnesium, phosphorus, calcium, copper and potassium. The following recipes with cassava demonstrate all it has to offer, let's take a look at them!

Cassava arepas with cheese

Cassava arepas are an excellent way to enjoy this tuber. When we speak of arepas, we think of the roasted and circular breads popular in Colombia and Venezuela, but over time, the concept of arepa has been extended to any ingredient that has this characteristic round shape. That's why cassava arepas are indeed a great way to consume this food.

To prepare this succulent dish, you will need:

• ½ k of cassava
• 350 g fresh cheese
• salt

As for the method, follow these steps:

1. The first thing to do is to peel the cassava. Once the peel has been removed, bring to a boil with plenty of water and a little salt (you can adjust the salt later). Although it depends on the particular variety of cassava, it will be soft in about 20 minutes
2. In the meantime, grate the cheese.
3. When the cassava is ready, turn off the heat and drain it. Don’t let it cool completely, and remove the thickest fibre located in the middle of the root, as mentioned before.
4. Next, mash the cassava with a fork or a masher, trying to make it as fine as possible.
5. When the cassava puree is ready, mix it with the grated cheese and knead it well. At this stage, we can correct the salt level again if necessary.
6. Divide into small portions and form the cassava arepas with cheese. Top tip: it’s best to keep them thin to prevent them from breaking.
7. Grease a frying pan with a little oil and roast them. To do this, when they are a little browned, turn them over. It only takes between 3 and 5 minutes over medium heat, as the cassava is already cooked. It’s that easy!

Cassava buñuelos

Traditional in Venezuelan cuisine, cassava buñuelos are a delicacy that can be enjoyed as a mid-afternoon snack, with a delicious coffee. Let's see how we can make them at home.

In terms of ingredients, we will need to get our hands on:

• ½ k of cassava
• 1 cup hard white cheese
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon wheat flour
• salt
• oil

For the panela syrup, the perfect accompaniment to the cassava buñuelos, we will need:

• 2 cups of panela
• ½ cup water
• clove

Let's get to the recipe, follow these steps:

1. Place the cassava, cheese, egg, flour and salt in a food processor. Grind it until it is all blended and homogeneous.
2. Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat and let it heat until it reaches a moderate temperature. Then, wet your hands with a little oil and form small balls of a similar size with the cassava dough.
3. Fry the buñuelos until golden brown. Carefully remove them and place them on kitchen paper to absorb the excess oil.
4. Serve them hot. We can serve them with the aforementioned panela syrup by putting the panela, water and cloves in a small saucepan over medium-high heat and cook for about 10 minutes until golden brown and the drops fall slowly from the spoon. Strain it, set it aside, and put it on top of our cassava buñuelos when you are ready to serve them!

Cassava chips

Delicious and very popular in Latin American countries, cassava chips are a quick and healthy dish that can be baked in a matter of minutes. They can also be fried, but they absorb a lot of oil.

Here are the ingredients we need to gather to prepare our cassava chips:

• 1 cassava
• salt and pepper
• olive oil
• spices (to taste)

Here are the steps to follow:

1. We can prepare our cassava chips baked or fried. If you choose the oven, preheat it to 200 degrees. Peel the cassava and cut it into chips, preferably long and thin, as this will make them crispier. Dry them with absorbent paper before placing them in the oven, where they will be distributed without stacking them on a tray covered with baking paper. Pour a drizzle of oil over them and leave them in the oven for 10-15 minutes at 180 degrees.
2. If we want to fry our cassava chips, add oil to a frying pan and, when it’s hot, place the cassava in such a way that it doesn’t pile up. Wait for it to brown and then drain and remove it.
3. Just add salt, pepper, and spices to taste and serve, yummy!

Cassava with mojo

dishes, so it can be an interesting dish to include in our menu.

To prepare this recipe, you will need the following ingredients:

• 2 medium cassavas
• 1 small white onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 bitter oranges
• 5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• salt

Here are the steps to follow:

1. First, wash the cassava and peel it. As in previous recipes, remove the line of fibre in the centre of the root.
2. Next, cut the cassava into fairly large pieces and place them in a large pot with water and salt.
3. Boil it for 20-25 minutes or until it’s soft, and drain it.
4. When the cassava is cooked, heat olive oil over medium heat in a frying pan.
5. Add the chopped onion to the olive oil and fry until golden brown and crispy.
6. Then add the garlic and, 2 minutes later, the juice of the oranges.
7. Serve the cooked cassava pieces on a plate and garnish with chopped coriander. Finally, add salt to taste. There you have it, your delicious cassava with mojo.