Day 7 - Cameroon - World Cup Eating Challenge

Once the ball got rolling on this challenge, I realized how fun it would be to really branch out and try something I wasn't at all familiar with. I scoured the internet for Cameroonian and Ivory Coast recipes. A lot of dishes involved some heavy stews and dishes that not only wouldn't be enjoyable in summer but also would require a lot of ingredients that would be difficult for me to get together.

However, I was really excited to find a recipe for Cassava Fries. Cassava, also known as yucca or tapioca, was definitely something I'd seen at my local Hispanic market and I remember enjoying yucca fries in Brazil once. I also thought it was cool that these two different continents, South America and Africa, both used this ingredient in so many of their dishes. This was definitely the way to go for me.

The yucca itself is actually pretty difficult to work with. You have to peel the thick brown skin off. It's a little sticky and doesn't smell amazing. From there, it needs to be cut into chunks and boiled for 10-20 minutes until it's more tender.

When it was soft to knife point, I made sure any extra rind was off and also cut out the vein that runs through it. I cut it into fry strips and heated up my grease.

My recipe recommended lard or fat over oil so I used duck fat. The first batch got to the "golden brown color" the recipe said to look for but they didn't really feel done for me yet. I cooked them all longer until they looked more burnt than done. 

My issue with the fries wasn't flavor - they taste fine and I really liked my seasoning of garlic salt, chili powder, and paprika. However, the inside of them has a kind of gumminess that I know is typical for tapioca. I just could not get over the texture and only ate a few of the fries. I couldn't bring myself to throw them away though because it felt ironic to waste a dish from Africa even if it was very inexpensive to make. If anyone wants some cassava fries - I have a whole bunch I could give you. 

Back in the day when I was really experimenting with cooking and wasn't as comfortable with techniques and seasoning and how different products act when cooked, I had a theory that about half of the recipes I tried would work. It's been a while since I thought of that because cooking with high quality products and fresh produce has made it really easy for me to try new things with great results. However, this challenge is definitely pushing me outside of the box and closer to that 50% mark. After not loving these fries or my mac and cheese, I'm happy that Day 8 is taking me back out to a pre-made product.