Baked Yuca and Potato Fries

Tip:  Read directions completely before preparing.

Ingredients:

1 lb. peeled potatoes (1 large potato)

1 lb. peeled yuca (1 large yuca)

3 tablespoons of olive oil

1 teaspoon ground coriander

½ teaspoon ground cumin (comino)

¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

1 teaspoon coarse Kosher salt

Directions:

Prepare the potatoes, by peeling off the skin and cutting into thin French fry cuts, and set aside.

Prepare the yuca, by cutting of the ends, peeling off the tough waxy skin, including the pinkish-purplish layer.

Cut into three-inch sections, then in half and boil for 10-15 minutes, until fork-tender and the ends start to split open a little bit.   Remove from water and let cool.

Once the yuca has cooled, remove the thin, woody stock that runs through the middle.  Slice into fry cuts, then set aside.

In a large bowl add, olive oil, coriander, cumin, black pepper, and coarse Kosher salt, then mix thoroughly.

Place potatoes and yuca in bowl with olive oil mixture and thoroughly coat all the fries.  Being gentle, so as to not breaking up the yuca.  Let potatoes and yuca sit in bowl for about 10 minutes, while oven preheats at 425 degrees.  Then place them on a large dark non-stick sprayed rimmed cookie pan.

Bake in oven for minutes for 20 minutes or until slightly brown, and tender, turning once after 10 minutes.  Enjoy!

Servings:  4

Tip:  Serve warm with hot sauce or an aioli.  For my dipping sauce, I used ½ cup mayo, ½ cup ketchup and 2 teaspoons of garlic paste and mixed thoroughly!  

Chicken in Nutty Cumin Gravy

This is one of my favorite chicken recipes.  Great with fresh homemade tortillas to dip into the gravy! It has the nice nutty smoky flavor of the comino.

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

1 teaspoon cumin (comino)

2 large gloves garlic

1 tablespoon of oil, preferable the Colavita Garlic Oil Blend

2 teaspoons chicken bouillon

2 cups water

2 tablespoons flour

4 leg and thigh quarters
salt to taste

Tip: Read complete directions first, before cooking.

Directions:

Wash chicken and sprinkle just a bit of salt and pepper. Begin to heat a 10" - 12" non-stick skillet on medium high. Add the oil. Add the chicken leg thigh quarters to the pan, skin side down. Should sizzle a bit. Cover the pan and lower the heat to medium. Brown the chicken, approximately 7 - 10 minutes on each side

As the chicken is browning, in a molcajete (mortar and pestal), grind the peeled garlic gloves, comino (cumin) and black peppercorns. Once ground into a paste, add 1 cup of water and swish it around the molcajete or mortar to remove all the paste and pour in another bowl. Add the chicken bouillon and other cup of water into the bowl and stir.

Garlic Gloves, Black Peppercorns and Comino (Cumin)

Spices in the Molcajete

Spices and garlic ground to a paste.

Once the second batch of  chicken browns, remove from the pan. Place pan back on stove on medium high heat. Into the drippings of the pan stir in 2 tablespoons of flour. Stir with a wire whisk until the flour has thickened a bit and turns a very light brown, stir constantly. Once browned, slowly pour in the bowl of water with the spices and chicken bouillon. It will be begin to thicken, continue to stir until you get a smooth gravy.

Flour browning.

Smooth Gravy

Last 15 minutes of cooking with chicken and gravy in pan.

Place the chicken back in the pan, lower the heat and simmer on low for another 15 minutes.  Taste and add additional salt to taste if needed.  Enjoy!

Servings: 4

Tip: A molcajete (Mexican Spanish, from Nahuatl mulcazitl) is a stone tool, the traditional Mexican version of the mortar and pestle tool.