I didn’t know for a long time that yucca was a source of resveratrol. But once I learned that, I knew we needed a bunch of yucca information and tips on great yucca recipes.
One of the great things about Yucca is that it’s easy to identify and just about all of it is edible. In fact to help you identify the yucca plant, here’s a great video about yucca, identify it, and its use in recipes. I included the yucca recipes from the video below.
The yucca blossom he talks about is crunchy with a mildly sweet taste. The blossoms, raw, are used in salads and as a garnish to meats. They bloom in the spring, so if you’re looking at yucca recipes in the fall avoid ones with the blossoms. Here’s the yucca recipe from the video:
Yucca Blossoms Stir-Fry with Chipotle
(see video above for pictures)
For this recipe you’ll need:
- Olive oil
- Tomato
- Onion
- Chipotle Pepper in Adobo sauce
- A bowl of yucca blossoms
- salt and pepper to taste
Preparation: Start by cleaning the yucca blossoms and cutting off the stems so only the petals remain. Raise a pot of water to boiling. Once boiling reduce heat, add petals and close the lid for 12 minutes. Then remove the pot and strain the petals through a colander.
In the meantime chop the tomato, onion and chipotle pepper.
Add a little oil to a hot pan and sautee the onions till they start to get golden brown. Then add the pepper, strained petals, and tomato.
Stir-fry and serve.
Flor de Itaba con Huevos (Yucca Blossom Omelet)
Yucca is a pretty popular food source in Central America. Many of the yucca recipes you’ll find online are from Costa Rica, Guatemala and El Salvador. This one is native to Costa Rica. (Pura Vida Costa Rica!)
For this recipe you’ll need:
- 1 cup spineless or giant yucca blossoms, cleaned
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon lard or vegetable oil
- 1 potato boiled, peeled and sliced
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 cup chives
- 1 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation: Start by cleaning the yucca blossoms and cutting off the stems so only the petals remain. Bring salted water to a boil in a saucepan. Add yucca flowers and cook over moderate heat until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.
Drain and transfer to a plate.
Heat oil in a skillet over medium high. Add eggs and yucca blossoms, still until eggs are fully scrambled.
In a glass pan layer slices of the potato on the bottom, then cover that with the egg mixture and finally the cheese. Bake at 350 degrees until the cheese is melted.