Description
These baked yuca fries are crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. The creamy cilantro sauce is tangy, herbaceous, and ridiculously addictive.
Ingredients
Scale
For the Baked Yuca Fries
- 2 large yuca stalks (about 3 1/2 pounds)
- Fine sea salt, to taste
- About 3 tablespoons neutral-tasting oil, like avocado, canola, or refined coconut
For the Cilantro Dipping Sauce
- 1 1/2 cups cilantro leaves with tender stems
- 3/4 cup vegan or conventional mayo
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime or lemon juice, or more to taste
- 1 medium garlic clove
- Fine sea salt, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450ºF.
- Using a sharp knife, cut each yuca stalk into 2 or 3 pieces. (See Note 1) Working with 1 piece at a time, stand it upright on a flat side, and carefully slice off the skin, turning the piece as you go. Cut the peeled pieces lengthwise into 4 batons to reveal a woody core (you may not see it, but it is there). Slice away a thin piece of the core and discard it. Cut each resulting baton into French fry shapes.
- Place in a pot with 1 teaspoon salt and add enough water to cover by about 2 inches. Cover tightly with a lid and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low and simmer with the lid ajar until the yuca is just starting to cook through but is not yet soft, about 5 minutes. Drain, then transfer back to the dry pot, and let the yuca stand for 5 minutes to dry out.
- Drizzle yuca with 3 tablespoons of oil and season with salt. Toss to coat evenly and transfer to a large baking sheet in a single layer. (See Note 2) Roast until the fries are golden brown, about 25 minutes, flipping once halfway through baking.
- Meanwhile, make the dip. In a blender, combine all the sauce ingredients. Blend until smooth. Taste and adjust the seasonings, if needed. Chill until ready to serve.
- Serve the fries hot, alongside the dip.
Notes
- 1. When you cut into it, the flesh should be white; if you see brown spots or detect an unpleasant acidic aroma, the yuca has gone bad and should be thrown away.
- 2. If all the fries don’t fit on one baking sheet, divide them among 2 sheets and rotate the sheets halfway through cooking.
- If you don’t like cilantro, substitute with basil, dill, mint, and/or parsley.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 of the recipe
- Calories: 311
