Yucca With Garlic Sauce: Yucca Con Mojo

Recipe courtesy Maricel Presilla www.foodtv.com

• Ready In: 45 mins
• Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 6  lbs  whole yucca root, peeled and cut into 3-inch sections (fresh or frozen, about 5 pounds trimmed weight or 5 pounds frozen chunks)
• 1  tablespoon salt
• 1⁄2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2  small Spanish onions, sliced into thin rings
• 12  garlic cloves, finely minced, mashed to a paste with mortar and pestle
• 1⁄4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1⁄3 cup  bitter  orange juice (or 1/3 cup mixture of 1/2 lime and 1/2 orange, reduce amount if a less tart taste is desired)
•  salt & freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Place the yucca in a large 6-quart pot. Cover with 5 quarts cold water.
2. Add the salt and bring to boil over high heat.
3. Lower heat to medium and cook covered until it feels tender when pierced with a fork but still keeps its shape, about 30 minutes.
4. Be careful not to overcook because yucca can turn into a gooey paste.
5. Turn the heat to low and leave the yucca in the hot water until ready to serve.
6. For The Mojo Sauce:
7. While the yucca cooks, prepare the mojo sauce.
8. Heat the olive oil until fragrant in a medium frying pan over medium-high heat. Saute the onion rings until lightly golden.
9. Add the garlic and the cumin and saute, stirring for a few seconds, until golden.
10. Pour in the bitter orange juice.
11. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
12. Very quickly, drain the yucca in a large colander and transfer to a decorative serving platter.
13. Cover with the mojo sauce and serve piping hot.
14. In Cuba and the Hispanic Caribbean, yucca con mojo is served alongside rice and beans and roast pork.