YUCCA and Red Quinoa Fritters with Saffron Aioli

July 18, 2013

           What came first the chicken or the EGG? 

 Summer for me is the time to laze around, sleep crazy hours and the time to socialize. My foodie friend and I have been planning a meetup for a while now.

The day came, and I was excited to have her home for coffee. I made these Peruvian inspired yucca fritters for her.  Coffee was set in my small and cozy backyard. Got ready in my butterfly summer outfit, pinning my hair up and in summer sandals, was ready for some girly couple of hours.

 Peruvian Yucca balls,  OK I see you smile,  tell me, how could you write a recipe like this and not be made fun of, right?  To keep it clean, I renamed it Yucca Fritters;).  What’s in the name right, these are delicious whether you call it yucca balls or fritters..Really, you got to try this, I’m telling ya, it’s so good, you will keep making it.  I can’t decide which is better the fritter or the aioli, go ahead try em’ both and you tell me..deal? 

So the question arose, ‘did you decide on this dish after you invited me or you had this in mind and I got to be your scapegoat to make fun of??’ Welllll;)

To my single and  beautiful friend…I enjoyed having her over with this controversial starter name, which turned out to be a good light dinner later.

YUCCA AND RED QUINOA FRITTERS  with SAFFRON AIOLI

Ingredients:
1/2 cup red quinoa cooked as per instructions
1 cup cooked yucca/tarraroot  grated
1 tsp ginger grated
1 tsp grated green chilly
1 tsp salt or to taste
Oil for pan frying

Method:
1. Cook red quinoa in water for 15 minutes and drain and keep aside.
2. Cut yucca in pieces, and steam it.  You can alternatively microwave and cook it. After it cools, peel the tough thick skin and grate it finely.
3.  In a big bowl, add all the other ingredients and mix well and make golf ball, or little smaller than that portions.
4. Shallow fry it till it browns evenly. Remember not to wait too long to fry or it dries out and doesn’t hold it’s shape.  We haven’t used eggs or any binder, so you have to use a little bit of strength to form the rounds. It’s already cooked so there is no need to fry it longer.
5. Take it out and serve with the amazing Saffron Aioli or any sauce your family likes.

SAFFRON AIOLI
1 generous pinch of saffron soaked in 2 tblsp milk
1/4 cup light mayonaisse
1 clove garlic
1 tsp hot sauce(I used sriracha) or accordingly
1 tsp honey
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
Blend everything together to a smooth sauce and serve as a dipping sauce or as a dressing for the salad.

ENJOY!!
Note:
Cooking the yucca before removing the skin is easier, but if you feel you want to remove the tough skin before cooking it, please do so.  The result is same. You could freeze the portions before frying for upto a month and defrost it for couple of hours before frying this and it works perfect.

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