Yuca & Pumpkin Tacos

Let me show you how to peel the yuca. You will need a sharp small knife, you can use a large chopping knife but you have to be very careful. You will be peeling the yuca towards you, so any mishap will slice off a finger. You first need to chop off the ends of the yuca, usually just an inch or two. Once that’s chopped, grab the yuca firmly at the end with one hand as it rests on the chopping board. Using the knife, hold the yuca as you place one swift chop on the center of the yuca.

This should chop the yuca root in half. If it’s still slightly together, to avoid using the knife, just hold the yuca with both hands and hit it against your knee. Now, that it’s in half, use your knife to peel it. Hold the yuca with one hand and slowly slide the knife against the meat of the yucca and the skin. The skin is 3 layers: Rough brown waxed bark like skin, then comes pink skin, and then a layer of white skin. Remove a few strips of the skin, until you can place the knife against the meat and just push the skin off. The easy thing about yuca, is that you once you remove a few strips of the skin, it is removed easily as you push against it. You can peel the skin off like you would an orange, just with the assistance of a knife.

You have peeled it correctly when you see the white layer of skin on the peel. If you see any pink after it’s peeled, run the knife across it again to remove the pink. Now some parts of the yuca may be “bad”. These parts will usually look gray in color and you would see a lot “veins” . Only when there is a bunch of “veins” and the meat is gray then it’s best to cut that piece off the yuca. If you cook it, it will be bitter.

Once it’s all peeled, half the yuca once more with the knife, cutting down the stem and then cut into small pieces.

Set a large pot of water on the stove to boil, and boil the yuca until you can pierce it with a fork. Usually about 15 minutes, cook time will vary depending on your stove. Do not over boil the yuca or it will be mushy and not ideal for the taco. Remove the water when the yuca is cooked (or it will make the yuca mushy) and set the yuca aside. Once it’s cool, you need to search for the “stems” in the cubes of yuca. The stem will be a “yellow” color and stick like. You can easily remove with your hand. Put the stem free yuca into a large bowl, set aside.

Now cut and peel the pumpkin. First, remove the seeds and membrane, using a spoon. To remove the skin, use a serrated knife and hold the pumpkin firmly as you slice the skin off. Set another large pot of water on the stove and heat it to boiling. Cut the pumpkin into wedges and then cubes, and boil it until tender when pierced with a fork. This usually takes about 15 minutes, again cooking time varies with each stove. Once cooked, remove pumpkin from the water and combine with the yuca.

Let’s make the corn and bean salsa:

Drain the can of beans and rinse the beans in a strainer a few times until the thick juice of the bean is removed. Place in a large bowl.

Drain the corn, and place in a the bowl with the beans.

Chop the tomatoes into cubes, place in the bowl with beans and corn.

Now, add 2 Tablespoons of the liquid from the pickled jalapeños. Add some salt to taste.

Cook them tacos!

Grab a large skillet and coat with olive oil. Heat on medium-high and add equal parts of yuca and pumpkin, a few dashes of the paprika and cayenne. Toss till coated and sauté lightly until all the flavors have blended together. About 2 minutes. Take a taste test, add more paprika or cayenne if you prefer. Then remove from heat and set aside.

Warm the tortillas in the microwave, by placing them on a microwavable plate, covered with paper towels. Microwave for 2 minutes on high.

Place a spoon full of the pumpkin and yuca mixture in the center of each tortilla. Add some of the corn and bean salsa. Add some freshly chopped cilantro and crumble some of the queso fresco over the top.

Want extra kick, add a few dashes of your favorite hot sauce.