Ana’s Cuban Yuca con Mojo

Yuca con mojo is a favorite Cuban food snack or side dish—and at the table of one of our favorite abuela cooks,, Cuban-born Ana Osadzinski (Colet). She often makes this yuca (also called cassava) to accompany her famous Cuban picadillo, another favorite dish on repeat-request for her husband, the Polish chef, her kids and their families. This is a garlicky treat to eat on the beach in Cuba or on the coldest snow day near Chicago, where she lives. “I always bring this when I go to to my sister’s for Christmas, ” says Ana says, who learned to make this traditional dish from her mother, another great cocinera Cubana. Ana was born in Bayamo in the Oriente province of Cuba, and moved to the States when she was 14.

You can use the root vegetable fresh or frozen, she says. Personally, Ana buys her yuca in bulk, in the frozen section of the grocery store. The only problem is that sometimes some of the pieces don’t get fully soft after boiling 30 to 40 minutes. “But I usually am lucky and it all cooks,” she says. “I never ventured to make fresh yuca.”

For best results, Ana advises using “curly parsley, never the Italian kind. It tastes different. ” We’re sold: curly parsley only from now on. “I take the florets off the stems and chop finely,” she says.

It’s not likely Ana and her family ever have any yuca left over, but if they do: “I fry it in olive oil the next day, just a little, to bring it back to life.” She serves it, topped with garlicky mojo—maybe as a side dish to her Cuban picadillo—and all is good in the world.

Ready to try Ana’s Cuban Yuca con Mojo?

Ana’s Cuban Yuca con Mojo

Recipe by Ana Osadzinski (Colet)

4.3 from 4 votes

Cuisine: Cuban

Servings

8 to 10

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

50

minutes

Ingredients

• The Yuca

• 80 oz yuca or cassava, frozen (or if using fresh, peeled and cored)

• 4 quarts water, or to cover the yuca

• 1 Tbsp salt

• For Mojo Topping

• 2 cups olive oil

• 1 cup vinegar, white

• 1 head garlic, smashed

• 2 Tbsp parsley, fresh (Ana prefers curly parsley over Italian)

Directions

• Place a big pot of water on the stovetop, set to high. Bring to a boil.
• Once the water boils, add salt. Add the frozen yuca and boil for 30 to 45 minutes.
• When the yuca is thoroughly cooked and soft, drain the water, reserving 1 to 2 cups of the liquid.
• Take each piece of yuca and devein the hard root in the middle. Discard the root.
• Devein each piece of yuca: cut out the hard, small root in its middle. Discard the root.
• Slice the yuca into chunky sticks and arrange on your serving platter. Pour 1 to 2 cups of the cooking water over the pieces to keep the yuca warm and juicy.
• Make the mojo: in a bowl, whisk the olive oil, vinegar, garlic and parsley. Taste. If it’s too oily, Ana adds “un chin” more vinegar. If it’s too vinegary, she adds a bit more olive oil. And “if you want to add more garlic—be my guest!” she says.
  

Notes

• Buying yuca from the frozen section of your grocery store is just fine, says Ana. She’s never made this dish using fresh yuca and always gets a million compliments.
• Ana advises serving this yuca as a side with her Cuban beef picadillo—for a hearty comida Cubana deliciosa.