Naihomy’s Healthy Arepitas de Yuca—Yuca Fritters
- July 2021
- By Naihomy Jerez
- Recipe from Dominican Republic
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Arepitas de yuca—or yuca fritters—are one of my family’s favorite Dominican foods. We eat them as a side dish or a snack anytime of day. Yuca is a traditional go-to ingredient in my native D.R. It’s also called cassava because it’s the root of the cassava plant. Usually these are fried in vegetable oil and dipped in garlic oil, but you know me. As the Healthy & Delicioso editor here at Familia Kitchen, I like to flip traditional comidas and make them healthier so we can enjoy them without the extra guilt and pounds!
I love yuca for its taste and its healthy benefits. Compared to other root vegetables, yuca is low on the glycemic index scale. So here’s my food flip: I ditched the white flour, using whole wheat instead. I also added antioxidant-rich flax seeds and turmeric, which is an anti-inflammatory spice thanks to an active ingredient it has in it called curcumin. And I used coconut oil instead of vegetable.
I serve these at our Dominican family gatherings and everyone likes them as much as the traditional version they are used to, so I consider this food flip a success!
Ready to try Naihomy’s flipped yuca fritters?
Naihomy’s Healthy Arepitas de Yuca—Yuca Fritters
20
servings30
minutes30
minutesIngredients
4 cups of yuca (about 2 lbs. of yuca), finely grated
4 cloves garlic cloves
2 Tbsp whole wheat flour
2 Tbsp ground flaxseed meal
2 tsp pink Himalayan salt, or to taste
1/2 tsp anise seeds
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp raw apple cider vinegar
2 eggs, large
4 Tbsp coconut oil
Directions
- First, prep the yuca. Peel the outer skin and then wash the naked yuca.
- Time to grate! Use the smallest holes in your grater to finely shred the yuca into a large bowl. Be careful with your dedos—I always accidentally scrape my fingers.
- First mash and then finely chop the garlic. You can use a garlic press, mortar and pestle, or grater.
- To the grated yuca, add the flour, flaxseed, salt, anise seeds, black pepper, turmeric and apple cider vinegar. Mix well.
- Make a hole at the center of the mixture in your bowl and crack the 2 eggs. With a fork, beat the eggs lightly and then mix them into the yuca mixture.
- Add the coconut oil in a medium-size frying pan, over medium-high heat.
- Keey an eye on the oil as it heats. When it is hot (but not burning), take about 1 1/2 Tbsp of the yuca batter and gently put it in the oil. Pat it down with a spoon so it takes the shape of a round fritter. Add about three other fritters to the oil, being careful not to overcrowd the pan.
- Fry each arepita for about 3 minutes. You’ll know each fritter is ready and that it has cooked all the way through when both side takes on a nice golden, crispy color and texture.
- Scoop out and rest each fritter plaon a plate with a paper towel to absorb the extra oil.
- If your coconut oil gets too low and you are still frying, it’s OK to replenish the coconut oil between fritter batches by adding 1 or 2 Tbsp. You’re done when all the arepitas are fried. Buen provecho!
Notes
- If you have leftover fried fritters, tightly cover them in a container and store in your fridge. When ready to serve, reheat them in the oven for a few minutes. This will get your arepitas toasty hot and back to their delicious crispy consistency without re-frying.
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