Root Vegetable/Tuber Side Dishes

CraigC

CraigC

Guru
Joined
1 Dec 2017
Local time
11:32 PM
Messages
4,394
Location
SE Florida
Many root vegetables and tubers get no love. One dish I was introduced to by Cuban friends is yuca con mojo. Yuca is a root which many call cassava. It is quite often seen in Cuban food. Peeled, with the fiberus center removed, boiled in salted water till tender and served with a mojo sauce, it is a very tasty side dish to many Cuban main dishes. What root veges/tubers do you serve?
 
I like all root vegetables. Carrots, sweet potato and beetroot are possibly the three I like least - due to their sweetness. But for some reason I like the sweetness of parsnips. One personal favourite is swede (rutabaga in US). I love it mashed with a dash of Angostura bitters, white pepper & butter. Turnips are wonderful and I adore them. That slightly bitter taste is exquisite. They are not unlike radishes, which I enjoy cooked or raw.

Cassava is not so available here - but I do happen to have a huge bag of cassava flour (accidentally ordered too much!) which I'm yet to use.

Potatoes, of course are an absolute favourite. Celeriac is also something I enjoy.
 
I left out the more common ones, but it goes without saying that potatoes top the list; they're just so versatile.

Carrots and very much lived here, I make them all the time, and I nosh on raw ones a lot. Beets, too, and I never think to make them. They somehow slip under my radar time and again, but I love them.
 
Potatoes a lot here, funny mg mentioned swede, wife came in from garden last night, and said we have swede growing, about 3. Planted from seeds I didn't know what they were. We love swede mashed with butter and pepper. I used to get organic carrots from a shop that closed down, they were the best ever I have had. Being from a poor family we grew up with a lot of veges. Still love them to this day.

Russ
 
Boniato and malanga are two others that also are found in Cuban cuisine. Boniato is basically a white sweet potato and malanga is also called taro.
 
Last edited:
morning glory said:
Cassava is not so available here - but I do happen to have a huge bag of cassava flour (accidentally ordered too much!) which I'm yet to use.
Click to expand...
Asda's stock it according to their website. Sainsbury's used to, but now it's marked "not available". Maybe it varies according to area. There are some Caribbean shops near me that probably stock it too
 
I like most of the usual suspects although beetroot is not at the top of my must have list. I don't like celeriac (although it has turned up in my veg box when I don't check what's going to be in there!). Nobody seems to know whether, if you are allergic to celery, you are allergic to celeriac too. I have had it once or twice and it seems to have no real effect except to make me feel rather itchy, whereas celery makes me extremely itchy. Not life-threatening like bananas, fish, shellfish, and tap water.
I have suddenly decided to like potatoes. I never used to eat them hardly at all except as jacket potatoes, chips or in curries, but lately I've started eating them more often. My favourite way of cooking them is to do them as microwave jacket potatoes and then chop them up and fry them lightly.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom