Mandioca!

Hello Readers! Time for another yummy recipe for those little toddler tummies! Today's food of the day is....Mandioca (man-dee-oh-ka)! Most of you probably just said "huh?" which is totally understandable. This little known food is a carbohydrate staple in Latin and South American countries and is positively delectable.

I spent some time in Paraguay when I was in high school and this funny root was served in a bread basket at Every. Single. Meal. All. Summer. Long. Yes, I got tired of it after awhile but upon returning to the US of A, I found that I craved it something fierce. After some searching, I found that it is also sold under the name of "yuca" (you-ka) or "cassava" root and is available at many world markets. For more info on the root, check out the wiki.

So, how do we feed this great, filling carb to our picky Littles? Very easily! Much like a potato, mandioca is easy to prepare and can be used in a variety of ways. Below is the basic cooking instructions, followed by a few suggestions for meals which my choosy diner inhales. Have fun trying this awesome new food and ENJOY!

Basic Mandioca Cooking Instructions:

Peel off the brown, waxy mandioca peel, down to the white stalk. Make sure all the pink underside of the peel is also removed, leaving only the white flesh. Peeling is best done with a butter knife because, though the root is very hard, the peel cracks off easily.

Cut in half width-wise and then slice length wise. Place in a large pot of cold, lightly salted water and bring to a full boil. Boil until a knife can go all the way through the root and it is tender, but still firm (about an hour to and hour and a half, depending on the size of the root). DO NOT OVER COOK. Doing so will leave it rather mushy and unappetizing. Drain water and pull the hard, stem-like vein out of the center of your mandioca pieces and it's ready to eat!

Mandio-Chiriri (Ava's FAVORITE!)

1 stalk chunky-diced mandioca
2 tbsp. butter or olive oil
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup shredded white cheese (mozzarella or a heavy goat cheese works well)
1 stalk finely diced green onion
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper

Grease a skillet with butter or oil. Pan-fry the ALREADY BOILED mandioca chunks until lightly browned. Add in egg, onion and spices and cook as you would scrambled eggs. After eggs are cooked (no glossy parts left), add in cheese and stir until melted. Enjoy with fresh tomato salsa or some avocado on top!


Mashed Mandioca

1 mandioca root
1/2 stick of butter
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper

Prepare mandioca as mentioned above, but allow to boil longer until very soft and not firm. Using a hand mixer, blend mandioca until smooth. Add in butter, salt and pepper and mix until well blended. Serve in place of mashed potatoes.