In the paleo world, we’re pretty picky of our starches and tend to lean towards those that pack the best punch [read: are most nutritional and contain a great ratio of micronutrients and minerals to calories]. But, can anybody really be mad if we’re just aiming to efficiently fuel our bodies? No? I didn’t think so… ?

Usually, sweet potatoes are our go to.  They’re simple, easy to prep ahead of time, and usually don’t even need anything put on them. But, too much of a good thing can get boring, and I like to mix it up every once in a while, how about you?…

Well, hold on to your hats, friends! Get ready to go to the store and snag you some yuca root!

With the comforting texture and hearty taste similar to that of a white potato, yet more nutritional ‘bang for the buck’, Yuca, or cassava, is practically the bomb.com… If you aren’t smitten with it yet, just wait until you hear what you can make with it!!!

 

Yuca.. what?

(If you want to learn more about yuca, this is a great resource, here.)

You can make fries with yuca (by the domestic man)

I have made gnocchi with yuca

‘Mashed yuca’

 

 

You can even buy Cassava flour to replace regular flour 1:1!! It’s pretty great. Stay tuned for more details on Otto’s Cassava Flour! Post coming soon 🙂

Paleo community rejoice for the yuca root and all the wonderful doors it opens!

So, now I’m going to share my attempt at my first Yuca Pizza Crust.

I tweaked her recipe a tad though (i doubled it and made some substitutions) below is copied straight from her blog, and I’ve shown what I replaced where in bold:

 

Yuca Pizza Crust (Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Paleo)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups mashed yuca (peeled, cut into large pieces, boiled until fork tender, drained)
• 1 teaspoon avocado oil (or coconut oil)
• 2 heaping tablespoons palm shortening  2 heaping TBS coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons coconut flour
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• Dried herbs to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375
2. Combine all ingredients except for coconut flour in a food processor or Vitamix
3. Puree until a dough is formed
4. Empty dough onto a piece of parchment paper
5. Add in coconut flour
6. Allow dough to cool completely then divide into 2 pieces (for two crusts) or keep as one large crust
7. Roll out dough to create a crust (or 2) that is about 1/2 inch thick or less
8. Bake for 15-20 on a parchment lined baking sheet or until nicely browned throughout
9. Remove from oven and flip crust(s) over and continue baking until this side is browned as well
10. NOTE: you will want both sides to be crisped and browned; keep sauce and “wet” ingredients to a bare minimum (or consider dipping) as yuca dough can become soggy easily when overloaded with moisture. A crispy crust will help prevent this to a degree but use caution.

Before:

After:

It was so yummy!!! A definite Syd & John ‘4 thumbs up!’  We topped ours with tomato sauce, arugula & spinach, sautéed green bell peppers red onions and brussels, sliced tomatoes, and slow cooker pork.

Go make this for dinner, now! ? & Be sure to sign up for my email list (at top of the page) so you never miss an impromptu recipe share!  I’ll be attempting another pizza crust SANS the labor of utilizing an actual yuca root and subbing more cassava flour instead in the weeks to come! Stay tuned.

xoxo

Syd