Yuca con Mojo — Boiled Cassava Drowned in Garlic

Ingredients

• 2 lb yuca, peeled and cut into 3-inch logs
• 1 tbsp salt, for the water
• 10 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• ½ cup olive oil
• 1 onion, sliced thin
• ⅓ cup sour orange juice (or 3 tbsp orange juice plus 2 tbsp lime juice)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• Salt and black pepper

Method

1. Cut the yuca logs in half lengthwise and pull out the woody cord running down the middle. It never softens, and finding it in your mouth is a bad time.
2. Boil in heavily salted water 20–25 minutes until a knife slides in easily and the edges look translucent and slightly split. Drain and keep warm.
3. Heat the olive oil over medium-low and cook the onion 5 minutes, then the garlic until barely blond, 3 minutes more. Stop before it browns.
4. Take the pan off the heat and pour in the citrus juice — it will hiss and spit, so stand back. Add cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper.
5. Pour the whole hot mojo over the yuca in a shallow dish and let it soak 5 minutes before serving. The yuca drinks it.