When Peanut Butter & Co. first approached MyLifeRunsOnFood.com about developing recipes, my initial inspiration were cuisines from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and Latin America. And they all have this vegetable in common: the yucca. In addition, most of these cultures frequently use peanuts in their recipes. So I found a delicious way to combine these ingredients. Instead of frying yucca in this recipe, I baked them instead. And then I created two peanut butter dipping sauces — the sweet pineapple peanut sauce is made with The Bee’s Knees peanut butter and the spicy tomato peanut sauce is made with The Heat is On flavor.

Prep time: 1 hour and 10 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Total time: 1 hour and 35 minutes
Yield: 4-8 servings

Baked Yucca Fries

Ingredients

3 to 4 large yucca
Olive oil
Sea salt and pepper
The juice of one lime

Procedure

1. Over high temperature, heat salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, peel the yucca’s dark brown skin off and discard. Slice the yucca root horizontally into the length of about 3 inches. Place in boiling water for 15 to 30 minutes (time varies depending on the freshness of the yucca).

2. Preheat oven to 450°F. Drain the yucca in a colander and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. When the yucca is cool enough to handle, cut the pieces lengthwise in half (the ends will resemble a half moon shape). Remove the tiny wooden stem that runs the length in the center of the yucca. Some stems are visible or buried beneath the flesh. Using a paring knife helps remove the stem.

3. Afterwards, cut yucca lengthwise in eighths or to desired thickness.

4. Lightly toss yucca with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Line a baking sheet with foil for easier clean up. Place yucca fries onto the baking sheet.

5. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Lightly toss and bake for another 10 to 12 minutes. Depending on the size of the fries, the baking time will vary.

6. Remove from the oven and squeeze fresh lime juice over the fries. Enjoy with the sweet and spicy peanut sauces (recipes below).

Pineapple Peanut Sauce

Ingredients

½ pound fresh pineapple chunks
⅓ cup The Bee’s Knees peanut butter
1 cup cilantro
1 2-inch long piece of ginger; skin removed and discarded; roughly chopped
The juice of one lime
1 shallot, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
1-3 tablespoons olive oil
Sea salt and fresh black pepper, to taste
Pinch of crushed red pepper

Procedure

Place all ingredients into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth.

Tomato Peanut Sauce

Ingredients

1(14-ounce) tomato sauce
¼ cup The Heat is On peanut butter
1 cup fresh cilantro
1 2-inch long piece of ginger; skin removed and discarded; roughly chopped
The juice of one lime
1 shallot, roughly chopped
1 large garlic, minced
2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
2 to 3 tablespoons fish or soy sauce
Sea salt and pepper
Pinch of crushed red pepper

Procedure

1. Place all ingredients into the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth.

2. Place in a medium pot. Heat until sauce slightly thickens, about 2 to 3 minutes.

What other vegetables would be delicious to dip in these peanut sauces? Leave a comment below and on Friday, October 14 2011 we’ll choose a random commenter to win a jar each of The Heat Is on and The Bee’s Knees, the peanut butters used in this recipe! US residents only.