Hi Everyone,
There is one constant in life – we are always learning. It matters not in which aspect of our life – personal, professional, work, or play, we are always learning. It’s exciting. It’s revealing. It gives us the opportunity to rethink our positions, to create, and to open our minds to endless possibilities. Earlier in the year, on two separate occasions, I cooked cassava, and on both occasions the results were revealing. In one particular case what I set out to make, never materialized the way I thought it should, but you know what, I felt comfortable with the mishap; it was an opportunity to learn and to try again.
The first time
I set out to make Shepherd’s Pie, however, instead of topping the meat filling with mashed English potatoes, I opted for boiled and mashed cassava. It was nothing new or revolutionary. Years ago when Fogarty’s opened up a food section on their ground floor, one of the popular and bestselling items on the menu was their Shepherd’s Pie with cassava topping.
I peeled and set the cassava to boil. Within 5 minutes of coming to a boil, the cassava was cooked! One of the vendors from whom I buy my cassava sells it with this pronouncement, “Get your cassava! It cooking like a match!” He is not boasting or falsely advertising. It is not that in the past his cassava did not cook up quickly and cook soft, but not this fast. There’s more.
Once drained I quickly added some freshly ground black pepper, a little butter, a couple splashes of milk and set about mashing the hot cassava. I was surprised that I did not have to work hard to mash the cassava, especially as it cooled. If you have ever mashed cassava for anything you will know that once it stops being hot, it starts to get tight and stiffens as the starch cools. My mashed cassava stayed light and creamy, it even looked like mashed English potatoes. And it was not because of the addition of butter and milk: I had done this preparation on several occasions and never had this kind of result. I spooned the mixture over the meat filling in the pie pan and was even able to drag a fork through it to make a design. No big deal right? Well, I had some meat filling and mashed cassava left over so I thought I’d make a small individual pie, only this time, I decided I was going to pipe the cassava over the filling! Yeah, you read that correctly, pipe as in putting the mashed cassava in a pastry bag fitted with a decorative icing tip! That was how soft and creamy the mashed cassava was. When the pies came out of the oven and cooled down enough to be eaten, you would not believe it was cassava you were eating. If I didn’t tell, no one who ate the pie would have known it was cassava and not potatoes.
The second time
On another occasion when I went to the market, my regular cassava vendor was not there so I bought cassava from a vendor whom I had purchased vegetables from in the past but never any kind of ground provision. I wanted cassava but having been spoilt by John’s (my cassava guy) cassava over the years I was skeptical. If you shop at markets you would know that vendors don’t like you questioning them about the freshness or the “cook ability” of their produce, so I hesitantly, and quietly, asked if the cassava was boiling. The vendor said yes and I bought 4 pounds.
Some family friends were coming over for tea the following day and I had planned to make mini cassava balls stuffed with cheddar cheese. I had made them before and they were a hit with everyone who ate them.
Just like John’s cassava, this set of cassava cooked up quickly and softly. Again I mashed the cassava, it was not necessary to add butter or milk; this was a different recipe. I seasoned the cassava with salt and pepper and mixed in some thinly sliced scallions/green onions. Bits of the mixture were taken and rolled into balls. Each ball was flattened and a piece of cheese placed in the middle then covered with the cassava making perfectly round balls.
With the oil heated in the karahi, I set about frying a batch of the cheese-stuffed cassava balls. 30-seconds into frying, the balls started to disintegrate and melt in the oil. I was confused. What the heck was happening here? I quickly removed the now brown bits in the pan and shut off the heat. I started to talk to myself. You must have done something wrong. But what? I have made this several times before. When last you made it? A few months ago.
When you made it was it coated in a batter like regular cassava ball? No, that was not necessary. Unsure of myself I went to look at some photographs I had taken the first time I had made mini cassava balls stuffed with cheese. There was no batter coating on the fried cassava-cheese balls. There was no fraying of the fried cassava-cheese balls; they were round and perfectly intact.
People were arriving a couple of hours so I didn’t have much more time to fret about why the cassava balls were not frying up. The oven was already on so I transferred all the balls to a baking sheet and set it to bake. My reasoning was that a light crust would develop around the balls.
When I pulled the pan from the oven they were a flat mass having melted. Little bumps of cheese here a here indicating where the ball originally stood. It was only then that it occurred to me that the cassava was not as stiff as it usually is so that is why it did not hold its shape when fried or baked. I know, you’re thinking that I should have realized this from the time I was mashing it but I didn’t.
I did not plan to serve this mistake but in between sips of tea, eating quiche Lorraine, bacon-wrapped plantains, and coconut drops, the topic of my mishap came up. I tell you I hang out with some die-hard and supportive foodies. They insisted that I bring it for them to try. Of course I had to be teased – so you are human after all?
You’re just like us? You cooked something and it did not turn out right? We had a good laugh. And you know what? I felt comfortable with my imperfection. We put too much pressure on ourselves in all aspects of our lives and the kitchen is no exception.
The next time cassava is readily available at the market I will buy some and try the recipe again. This time I will pay more attention to the texture of the cassava when mashed to determine if it can be made into balls and fried, stuffed or unstuffed.
Cynthia
