Appetite for Reduction (12 page)

I
’m trying to think of ways to describe yuca in case you’ve never had it. What comes to mind is nutty, earthy, bitter, starchy . . . but that doesn’t do this tropical root vegetable justice. Comparable to a potato when mashed, its flavor is more, as the French say, “I don’t know what.”

Because of how starchy yuca is, it’s often mashed with a lot of oil. Instead, to get it creamy here, you’ll reserve some of the boiling liquid and stream it back in as you mash. The yuca becomes creamy and ready to take on the sauce of whatever you’re serving it with. Try something a little sweet, like
Mango BBQ Beans
(page 133) or the
Caribbean Curried Black-Eyed Peas with Plantains
(page 129). Some lime juice and cilantro finishes it off.

2 pounds yuca, peeled and chopped into 2-inch chunks
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon olive oil
½ teaspoon salt, plus extra for salting the yuca water

Place the yuca in a pot and cover with water until submerged. Add a big pinch of salt, cover the pot, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer. Let simmer for about 20 minutes, until very, very tender. Turn off the heat.

Reserve about a cup of the hot water by carefully dipping a heatproof mug into the pot. Don’t burn yourself, please. Drain the yuca, then return it to the pot. Add the lime juice, cilantro, oil, and salt. Mash well with a potato masher. Stream in the reserved hot water little by little, mashing as you go along. You may need up to ½ cup. Mash the yuca until nice and creamy and serve immediately.

SERVES 4 • ACTIVE TIME: 30 MINUTES • TOTALTIME: 50 MINUTES

W
hen my boyfriend requested low-fat onion rings, I kind of let out a sigh; maybe I even rolled my eyes. I’m not crazy about onion rings in the first place and so of course I would be even less crazy about low-fat ones. Right? Well, sometimes it feels good to be wrong! I ended up gaga over these. Somehow the greasy mess that is a diner onion ring became a thing of beauty when coated in some whole wheat bread crumbs and baked in a superhot oven.

2 Vidalia onions (about a pound), or other sweet onion such as
Walla Walla
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup cold almond milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons olive oil

Slice the onions into ¾-inch-thick rings. Separate the rings and place in a bowl. Cover with a kitchen towel or something, to keep the onioniness out of your eyes.

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Line a rimmed 12 by 18-inch baking sheet with parchment paper, spray with cooking spray, and set aside.

Now you’ll need two bowls for the batter and breading. If you’ve got large, wide cereal bowls, those’ll do the trick. Into one bowl, dump the flour and cornstarch. Add about half of the almond milk and stir vigorously with a fork to dissolve. Add the rest of the almond milk and the apple cider vinegar, and stir to incorporate. Set aside.

In the other bowl, mix together the bread crumbs and salt. Drizzle in the oil and use your fingertips to mix it up well.

Get a conveyor belt going. From left to right, arrange the onions, the flour mixture, the bread-crumb mixture, and lastly the baking sheet. Dip each onion slice into the flour, letting the excess drip off. Transfer to the bread-crumbs bowl and use the other hand to sprinkle a handful of bread crumbs over the onion, to coatcompletely. This may take a bit of practice. Carefully transfer each onion to a single layer on the baking sheet. Make sure you use one hand for the wet batter and the other for the dry batter, or you’ll end up with club hand.

Spray the rings lightly with nonstick cooking spray and bake for 8 minutes. Flip, and bake for another 6 minutes. The rings should be varying shades of brown and crisp. Taste one to check for doneness. Serve as soon as possible. With ketchup if you must.

MAKES 6 SERVINGS, 2 PANCAKES EACH • ACTIVE TIME: 20 MINUTES • TOTAL TIME: 50 MINUTES

Y
ou know those super deep-fried Chinese takeout scallion pancakes ? Those were my inspiration here. I wanted crispy and oniony and carby and satisfying. But I didn’t want deep-fried and I didn’t want tons of empty calories. These pancakes, made with potato, really filled the need. Panko makes them nice and crispy and a high baking temperature gets them nicely browned and gives them that satisfying scallion pancake pull.

Serve with the
Hoison-Mustard Tofu
(page 153) and steamed broccoli or try the
Orange-Scented Broccoli
(page 100). Or for a snack, mix hot Chinese mustard with a hint of agave and dip away. They reheat wonderfully, so fridge the leftovers and satisfy your potato needs all week.

First, boil the potatoes. Place them in a small pot and submerge in water. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat to a simmer and cook until tender, about 15 minutes.

Once cooked, run the potatoes under cold water. Let them cool for about 15 minutes, giving them a mix every now and again, until they are cool enough to handle.

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and spray it with nonstick cooking spray. Place the potatoes in a mixing bowl and add the scallions, sesame oil, salt and black pepper. Use a potato masher to mash like crazy, until there aren’t any big chunks of potato left. Add the panko and mix well.

Mix together all of the breading ingredients on a large dinner plate. Form the pancakes by rolling ¼ cup of batter into a ball and then flattening it to a pancake about 4 inches in diameter. Press it firmly and carefully into the breading mixture, then transfer it to the prepared sheet. Bake in batches of six for best results.

When you have six pancakes on the sheet and the oven is preheated, spray the pancakes lightly with cooking spray. Place in the oven and bake for 12 minutes. Flip carefully, using a thin spatula, and spray the pancakes on the other side. Bake for 8 more minutes.

They’re best when served warm!

SERVES 6 • ACTIVE TIME: 20 MINUTES • TOTALTIME: 50 MINUTES

F
or me there is no better comfort food than sweet potatoes. Warm, sweet, creamy, and spicy, what more could you want? Something bright orange? Well, this dish has you covered. The apples brighten everything up and give the sweet potatoes an air of mystery. In the autumn months this makes such a flavorful and simple base for myriad stews, or just serve with baked tofu or tempeh and greens. And it’s virtually fat free! I’m the queen of hating to peel things, but it really makes everything so much creamier and yummier. It’s nice to have uninterrupted mushiness, so take the trouble to peel your apples and sweet potatoes here.

1 pound apples (2 average-size), peeled and cut into
½-inch chunks
2 pounds sweet potatoes or yams, peeled and cut into
½-inch chunks
¼ cup water
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon agave (optional; see note)
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon grated fresh ginger (see tip)

Preheat a 4-quart pot over low heat. Spray it with nonstick cooking spray, then add the apples, sweet potatoes, water, and salt. Cover the pot and sweat the apples and sweet potatoes for about 20 minutes, stirring often. What this means is just to cook them slowly and let them steam. You want to coax the moisture out of them, but if you set the flame too high they’ll burn and cook unevenly.

After 20 minutes, you can turn up the heat just a bit. Add a little more water ifneeded. Cover and cook for 20 more minutes, paying close attention so that they don’t burn, and stirring often. When they’re very tender, they’re done. Mash with a potato masher. Add the agave, cinnamon, and ginger, and mash some more. Taste for salt and seasoning. Serve warm.