Baked Cassava with Za'atar Seasoning!

Cassava aka Yucca Root

Recently I had the pleasure of visiting with my friend David of Florida Survival Gardening.  He has a fantastic yard filled with all kinds of wild and cultivated plants.  He also sells many of these so you may want to check him out!  His blog is filled with a wealth of foraging and gardening ideas.

Photo of us from Florida Survival Gardening!

He was kind enough to give me a Cassava root, Manihot esculenta aka Yucca, for cooking and a stick from the plant which I immediately put in water when I got home and it is now rooting!  It may not survive Tennessee winters but it is a nice experiment.  I will probably put it out in the spring to see how it grows.

Cassava is a really cool looking plant and the huge roots are wonderful starchy tubers.  The plant is of the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae) from South-American origin. You can not eat the roots raw, so they must be boiled for at least 20 minutes before you put them in a dish. They taste like a nutty potato.  When you first pick the root, the skin is easy to peel off.  Of course mine sat in the fridge for a week and took a little more time to peel off, but I was able to do it with my fingers.

Cut the root into sections and boil for 20 minutes.

After boiling the sections, you must cut into wedges and then cut the center fibrous part off.  You want the outer white part.

Coat the strips of Cassava root with olive oil.  Add seasoning of choice.  I tried traditional and wild herb Za'atar seasoning.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until desired crispness of edges.

Both varieties turned out great.  It is wonderful served with your favorite sour cream or yogurt sauce.

Za'atar Seasoning Made with Wild Staghorn Sumac

 

Staghorn Sumac, Rhus typhina, is commonly found in the Mid-South.  It is a picturesque tree that produces fuzzy, bright red berries in a pyramidal cluster.  The tree grows fast, is drought tolerant and does not generally have pest and disease problems.  It may appear as a shrub.  You can often find these trees along woodland edges.  You will most often find several trees together as it self-propagates from root suckers.  The species has pinnately compound leaves with serrated edges. It shares a genus with Poison Sumac, Rhus vernix, but the Staghorn berries are not poisonous and do not resemble the Poison Sumac variety (white berries).  Fall, particularly early September, is the best time to collect these berries.  There is also a non-fuzzy related variety, Smooth Sumac, Rhus glabra, that can be used, but I have yet to find one in Tennessee.

Sumac is often used to make a lemonade-like drink.  The outside of the berries have a citric taste to them and when soaked in water, creates a resemblance to lemonade.  The berries are also often used to create a popular middle eastern spice called Za'atar.  The citric taste to the berries is the primary attraction to this fruit so you do not want to wash it or pick it just after a rain.

I picked my Staghorn Sumac berries in September and I have let them dry for the last month.  They are fairly easy to remove from the branch.  If I had to describe the texture I would call them fluffy. 

They grind well in a small coffee bean grinder. 

You can use the ground sumac as an herb without adding anything additional if you would like.  I made a traditional Za'atar mixture and a wild herb variety with commonly found plants in the area that I dehydrated when they were in season.  I like the results both equally.  The traditional variety has roasted sesame seeds which really stands out while the wild herb variety has a fresh greener flavor.  Both have a nice citrus bite that would be great on meat, fish or vegetables.

Traditional on left and Wild Herb Za'atar on right

Traditional Za'atar Mix

Ingredients:

1/2 cup dried ground Staghorn Sumac
3 tablespoons thyme
2 tablespoon roasted sesame seeds
3 tablespoons marjoram
3 tablespoons oregano
2 teaspoons course sea salt

Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl. Store in a cool dark location.



Wild Herb Za'atar Mix


Ingredients:

1/2 cup dried ground Staghorn Sumac
2 tablespoons dried ground Perilla
2 tablespoons dried ground Ground Ivy
2 tablespoons Filé (ground Sassafras leaves)
2 tablespoons dried ground white Clover flowers
2 teaspoons course sea salt

Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl. Store in a cool dark location.


Enjoy both varieties as a seasoning on meat, fish or vegetables.  It can also be mixed with oil to make a dipping sauce.