The things one can do with a Ricer â¥

The main reason I’d suffer if I went on zero carb diet: no yuca

A yuca memory of mine: Dad asks my mom “Yilla when are you cooking yuca?”(she did every few weeks).  

Mom is stirring a pot of Cow’s Foot soup, in a 98F kitchen, with no fan, no A/C, with my brother and sister playing Nintendo, and me reading a book.  She yells back (louder than was necessary) “Anytime, but you have to peel it…I’m not doing that!” –

Mom walks out of the kitchen to look for my dad.   He is already outside, getting in the car and yelling back at her: “Heat up 2 pots, I’m bringing back about 8 pounds!” 

She walks back in the kitchen, shakes her head, and smiles and continues to stir the soup.

The story above is a testament to the toughest part of preparing yuca, peeling it.  Yes, you can buy peeled yuca but only frozen (that’s the only way I’ve found it in DMV area, back in Panama you can get fresh peeled yuca in sealed packages).

Here is a good instructional video for peeling Yuca made by a Yuca exporting company out of Costa Rica (click here)

…Just Kidding! I would never expect anyone to use a Rambo machete/knife and slice yucca that way… but that was pretty badass!

Here is a video demonstrating a more regular method: (peeling action starts at 2:40 click here)

The video actually shows a different peeling method than the one I use, but the yuca available in this area has some sort of wax coating (thicker than what I’ve seen), so it’s safer to peel it like the man on the videp: slice off the skin with a knife.

Once you have peeled the yuca, cut into equal sized pieces. Fill up at pot with cold water  and place  the cut yuca inside. Bring everything to a boil, add salt to taste.

You can stuff the carimañolas with any savory filling. Traditional Panamanian carimañolas are stuffed with ground beef, but boohoo I’m vegetarian (not anymore, but I still make them vegetarian update: 10/07/2013) now so, yes, I will make something different and delicious (of course purists will say, it’s not called carimañola anymore! But, guess what…? I don’t care!!!) **smiles lightly and walks back to the kitchen’s sink to wash her hands, eyes still locked on the camera** (yes i’m pretending I’m filming…OK? hehe)

Enough babbling, here is the recipe:

Vegetarian Carimañolas (yuca empanadas)

Yields: 20 carimañolas

4-5 lbs of yuca (Protip: Always buy more than the recipe calls for. The yuca is not always good underneath the waxy peel).

Tip: You can substitute non-stick spray or just flour instead of oil so the carimañolas don’t stick. 

Filling

(Make sure your filling has cooled off before you even start boiling the yuca, this makes the empanadas easier to fill)

—

Instructions
1.  Heat up a pan with 1 tbs of oil (until hot, near its smoke point)
2.  Saute all the veggies, add the garlic, seasonings, mushroom, crushed tomatoes and the juice you got out of sauteing the mushrooms.
3.  Lower the heat to simmer, add ketchup and soy sauce, taste. If you want to add some heat, go ahead and go wild with sriracha, chillies, tabasco, etc.
4.  Cool off before cooking the yuca.

1. Boil the yucca until it almost breaks apart.  Strain and remove the hard root in the middle of each yuca. Some roots will fall but some will still be stuck on the yuca. Put aside the hard pieces and save them to fry later on since you won’t be able to mash them properly.
2. While piping hot, pass the boiled yuca through a ricer.
3. Have your bowls ready with filling, grated cheese & oil, and a flat oiled plate or cookie sheet to place the carimañolas once you shape them.
4. Oil your hands a bit and grab about 2 tbs of the mashed yuca, place it in your palm and make a rectangular shaped ball. Push the middle in a bit and add 2 tps of the filling with some cheese on top. With your fingers push the filling in and close back the ball.  If it becomes difficult to seal, you can add extra mashed yuca to close them completely.
5. Keep prepared carimañolas in the fridge until you are ready to fry them. Good news if they didn’t seal so well on your first try, you can still enjoy them: just saute them on butter! (Doesnâ€t that make everything better?) This way they won’t split open in the middle of frying.  Besides, I just like adding fat to this already fatty deliciousness.

 

Cilantro-Cheesy Yuca Balls

NOTES:
–  I like to make a double batch of the filling or fry an egg, and serve these carimañolas with a side of fruit and queso fresco for breakfast.
–  If you have leftover boiled yuca, it keeps fora few days in the fridge. Same deal with the carimañolas, many people freeze them and just fry as needed.
–  If you have leftover mashed yuca and don’t feel like making any more carimañolas, just add some cheese and chopped cilantro like I did on that pic with the balls, and fry them also…breading them would work well too… carimañolas schnitzel!!!! OK, I have to chill out now… Just cook with yuca! Deal?!

Rest of the pictures on FB click here 

¡a comer!

I am not a Baja Fresh, California Tortilla or Chipotle hater, neither I’m a fan, and I refuse to pay more than $2 for a taco the days I can drive or walk to El Charrito Caminante, plus the fried yuca, chicharrón and pupusas.  Forget the tamarind juice and horchata, they are blend and I have tried them 3 times already, though I will hope they improve them in the future.

The first time I went to El Charrito was because I heard it was cheap, then I went and tried different things, (forget the burritos o tortas), have never tried the quesadilla though, but the “combinación”, meat, goat and chorizo tacos are awesome.

Do not expect sour cream, guacamole or pico de gallo included, these tacos are like the ones I had in Panama as street food, chopped well seasoned meat, with green onions cilantro, that’s it! Did I mention cheap?

If you are like me, you order to go, you stop by Glebe Market first and grab a ripened $0.69 avocado and slice it at home with a side of sour cream and serve it with this taco.  Plus it is always crowded and if the drive is less than 15 minutes your food should be fine.

The pupusas I love the cheese ones, the “revueltas” I don’t because the 3 times I have tried them I tasted a different cheese than the one that is only cheese and it wasn’t a positive difference.

Fried Yuca with Chicharrón, there are good days and bad days, most of the time they are a good deal, served with “encurtido” and the chicharròn (for them is fried pork, in Panama though chicharron means Fried Pork Skin), the chicharron is missing flavor and it is dry, but for some reason you always end up eating it, let’s face it, fried pork? you gotta try it!

This time I heard the guy who places the order, which by the way is there every time I’ve been to this joint, he told a customer about how this coca cola bottle doesn’t have corn syrup, etc.  So I got one myself, and no, I did not taste any difference, it did feel good to see sugar cane as ingredient instead of High Fructuose corn syrup, but my palate may not be special because it tasted just as a regular soda to me.

Did not have dessert this day, I will saved my sweet tooth for that Banana Bread I will bake this weekend.

¡A comer!

El Charrito Caminante

2710 Washington Blvd Arlington, VA, 22201