Puerto Rican Style Cassava Chili

- Blogmas Day 8 . Cassava Chili . Yum! -

Hi everyone! How goes it? This year's series of "Blogmas" posts might end up being the most boring, unfestive string of Blogmas posts in all of Blogmas history that anyone has ever seen. I just don't have too many holiday festivities going on this year. Oh well. I am simply happy that the challenge of writing every day for Blogmas is getting me back into blogging more. 😊
But Hey! Speaking of Christmas, last Christmas I was gifted a Puerto Rican cookbook from my dad and I absolutely love it! I have been meaning to tell you guys about it here on my blog for quite some time... maybe since last Christmas! Has it really been almost a year? Well, what better day to share with you about it than today!

"A Taste of Puerto Rico" by Yvonne Ortiz

I was given the opportunity to pick out whatever Puerto Rican cookbook I wanted! I landed on this one, not only because I liked the author's last name, but because she boasted of including a total of 200 recipes in her book, more than any other book I'd seen on the market! Low and behold upon acquiring the book I discovered not all of the recipes to be of value to me- things like dressings, seasoning combinations, or marinades, which out of convenience, I'd probably be more apt to buy than make, and then there is the whole chapter on seafood which I don't really eat, BUT there are a lot of other intriguing recipes in there too that I am interested to give a try!
The book is also very interesting because the author shares a bit of the cultural background and history of Puerto Rico's culinary journey over the years, as well as personalizing the book with her own stories and experiences around each recipe she shares.
When the book first came in the mail and my dad gave it a lookover, the first thing he said was "there are no pictures!" But that didn't bug me. I figured if I had any questions I could always ask google!

Today I thought it would be fun to share with you my experience working with cassava for the first time! Continue below for a sneak peak into this book's Cassava Chili Recipe!

Cassava Chili

Ingredients:

3-1/2 Pounds cassava, peeled and cubed
salt water
2 tablespoons of annatto oil combined with 1 tablespoon of corn oil (I substituted the corn oil with vegetable oil)
1/4 cup of basic recaito
1 16-ounce can of whole tomatoes, drained, seeded, and chopped
1-1/4 cups of tomato puree
1 cup of tomato sauce
2-1/2 cups of white navy beans, cooked
1-1/2 teaspoons of chili powder
2 teaspoons of salt
A pinch of ground nutmeg

This recipe serves about six.

Directions:

Boil the cubed cassava in the salt water for about 25 mins. then drain and set aside.
Heat the oil in a large skillet and add recaito, tomatoes, tomato puree, and tomato sauce.
Cook mixture for about 5 mins over medium-low heat.
Add beans, cassava, and seasonings and cook for 10 more mins

Buen Porvecho!

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I had never cooked with cassava before so this was a whole new experience for me. I figured with it being a tomato-based chili, I wouldn't be able to screw it up too much! I did have to do a sufficient amount of research before attempting this recipe. After all, I thought yams, yuca/cassava, and sweet potatoes were all the same thing/interchangeable. BOY, was I wrong!
Cassava does go by several different names though: Yuca, Manioc, Mogo, among others.
If you are a first-time user of cassava I'd like to share the following youtube videos which really helped to give me a visual frame of reference (you know, since the book didn't have pictures!) and get me started with even the basics of how to peel and chop up the cassava.

How to Cut and Cook Yuca/Cassava/Tapioca || Kerala Style Mashed Tapioca
Boiled Cassava ( Manioc ) | How to Cook Cassava Root | cook with mom
How to Make Chilli Mogo (Cassava) - A Quick and Easy Recipe!

Cooking cassava was a super fun experience for me. I have tried this recipe a couple times now and it really is an easy one to conquer after getting over the initial intimidation of using this foreign root vegetable. Just be careful not to overcook the cassava as it will then get super tough to chew. #personalexperience
The recipe above calls for some other ingredients that may be foreign to you if you are unfamiliar with Puerto Rican cooking, recaito and annatto oil. These can be bought premade at the market but the "Taste of Puerto Rico" cookbook explained how to make them from scratch so I went ahead and tried that out..

Making the Recaito from scratch; like a pepper, onion, cilantro paste, THIS is what MADE the chili taste so bom!

I got these little seeds from the Puerto Rican mercado downtown. The seeds look like bacon bits and are what contribute to the oil's orange color! Very Pretty!

I am not much of a cook, but I thoroughly enjoyed learning new things and making this recipe from my "Taste of Puerto Rico" cookbook, my Christmas present from daddy! I can't wait to discover just how delicious all the other recipes in this cookbook are. Wish me luck and I hope all your cooking endeavors, especially this holiday season, are successful and delicious! 🧡

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