Yuca en Escabeche (Pickled Yuca)
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 844kcal
Yuca en Escabeche is a simple-to-prepare Puerto Rican side dish with boiled, creamy yuca (cassava) tossed in a piquant sauce of vinegar, onions, and spices. Serve it with steamed white rice or as a side dish to pork or chicken. Prep time includes a 1-hour minimum pickling time, but I recommend pickling the yuca for at least 4 hours for best results.
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Equipment
- large stockpot
- 12-inch skillet
Ingredients
For the Boiled Yuca
- 4 pounds (2 kilograms) yuca peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes (see notes)
- 10 cups water
- kosher salt
For the Escabeche Sauce
- 1 3/4 cups (420 milliliters) extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 cup (250 milliliters) distilled white vinegar
- 2 large white onions peeled, trimmed and sliced (2 heaping cups or 450 grams)
- 3 large cloves garlic minced (about 1 heaping tablespoon or 20 grams)
- 1 tablespoon (20 grams) sofrito
- 20 (about 1/4 cup or 45 grams) manzanilla olives stuffed with pimentos
- 1 heaping tablespoon (12 grams) capers
- 1/2 tablespoon (4 grams) black peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon (6 grams) kosher salt plus more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon (1 gram) dried oregano leaves
- 1 large bay leaf optional
Instructions
Soak the Yuca
- Put the yuca chunks into a large stockpot and cover it with 4 inches of cold water. Allow the yuca to soak in the water while you prep the rest of the ingredients or for 20 minutes.
Boil the Yuca Until Tender
- Drain the yuca and rinse it under cold water. Drain this water and fill the pot up with new cold water to cover the yuca 4 inches. Bring the water up to a boil over medium-high heat. Allow to yuca to simmer for 20-25 minutes, or until fork-tender.
Prepare the Escabeche Sauce While the Yuca Cooks
- Begin heating the olive oil in a non-reactive skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onions to the oil in the pan after 1 minute or when the oil smells fragrant. Gently sauté the onions for 5 minutes or until they become translucent and soft, stirring occasionally.
- Add the garlic and the sofrito to the onions in the pan after 5 minutes. Allow their flavors to infuse into the oil for another 3-4 minutes, stirring once every minute.
- Add the olives, capers, black peppercorns, kosher salt, dried oregano, and a bay leaf to the pan after the garlic and sofrito have a chance to infuse. Stir these ingredients into the onions to combine everything. Simmer the mixture in the pan for 3-4 minutes.
- Add the vinegar to the pot once the spices have simmered with the onion mixture for 4 minutes. Simmer the mixture for another 5 minutes to marry the flavors. Turn off the stove and let the escabeche cool as the yuca finishes cooking.
Marinate the Yuca in the Escabeche Sauce
- Drain the yuca in a colander once the cooking time is finished.
- While the yuca drains in the colander, add half of the escabeche to a large bowl. Pour the drained yuca into the bowl on top of the escabeche, then pour the rest of the escabeche sauce over the yuca.
- Use salad forks or a wide spoon to fold the yuca into the escabeche until it is completely coated. Cover the bowl and allow the escabeche to pickle the yuca for at least 1 hour, preferably 4 hours, before serving.
- After an hour, preferably after 4 hours, stir the yuca en escabeche again, then serve.Yuca en escabeche is typically served at room temperature, but you can serve it cold or even slightly warmed in the microwave. Just spoon it onto your plate(s) and enjoy it.
Notes
How to Prep Yuca for Escabeche:
- Cut the whole root into manageable pieces that are about 3-4 inches.
- Make a slit, lengthwise, down the yuca. Take the blade of your knife and flick up the peel at the slit. It'll sound like you're opening a cardboard box.
- Carefully lift the woody peel away from the rest of the flesh with the knife blade. Complete peeling the remaining yuca pieces this way.
- Cut the cassava into 1-inch thick slabs, then into 1-inch strips, and finally, into 1-inch chunks.
- Replace the white onions in this recipe with yellow or red onions. Avoid using sweet onions because their flavor does nothing for this recipe.
- You can omit the olives and capers if you absolutely hate or are allergic to them:
- Replace the olives and capers umami with 1/2 teaspoon of Accent or MSG, or 1 tablespoon (15ml) of the juice of the olives and capers.
- Replace the white distilled vinegar with white wine vinegar or a combination of (1 cup/240 ml) fresh lemon juice, 1/2 cup or 120ml (each) fresh lime and fresh Naval or Valencia orange juice.
- Yuca is usually found in the produce aisle's tropical fruits and vegetables section or in African or Hispanic markets labeled cassava, manioc, or yuca.
- Buy yuca roots that are wide and straight, with minimal hooks and crooks to peel the woody bark from the yuca easily.
- It's important to cook yuca thoroughly to prevent cyanide intoxication.
- If you can't make the whole recipe on the same day, you can make the escabeche sauce up to a week ahead and store it in a covered container in the fridge.
- Though the peppercorns are safe to eat, you can tell your guests to move them to the side or fish them out and discard them yourself.
- Store leftover yuca en escabeche in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 1 week.
- Be sure to stir the mixture before serving it to ensure you get all the pickling liquid on your yuca.
- Allow the yuca to infuse for 2 hours at room temperature after mixing in the escabeche.
- Transfer the yuca to a freezer-safe container and store it in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- To thaw frozen yuca en escabeche, just put the container in the fridge overnight.
- The next day, stir everything together again before warming or serving cold.
Nutrition
Calories: 844kcal | Carbohydrates: 91g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 53g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 38g | Sodium: 331mg | Potassium: 692mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 51IU | Vitamin C: 50mg | Calcium: 67mg | Iron: 1mg