When I first moved to NY, my friends organized a dinner at a "fancy" restaurant to welcome me to the city. They took me to Calle Ocho, which is a Cuban-fusion restaurant with the most amazing food! We ate and talked and laughed for hours- it was a great night. Ever since then I've enjoyed visiting that restaurant- and while the appetizers and entrees are delicious, one of my favorite things at Calle Ocho are the free bread balls that are brought to the table before the meal arrives. They're warm, cheesy, and I could eat a million of them! Unfortunately, up until a few days ago, I had no idea what they were called or what they were made of... but thanks to Google and my amazing search-engine techniques, I think I've figured it out:
All this time I have been enjoying Yucca Buns!
These buns are surprisingly easy to make! And while the recipe only uses a few ingredients, one of them was new to my kitchen...
Tapioca flour! I have never used it before (nor had I even heard of it), but luckily the health food store down the street carried it! So I picked up a bag and got to work when I got home.
I measured the tapioca flour...
Baking powder...
Garlic powder...
Mozzarella cheese...
And egg yolks in a bowl.
After I had mixed it a bit, I turned it onto my counter to knead. However, since I wasn't using the traditional Oaxaca cheese that the recipe called for, the dough was too dry. So I added a bit of heavy cream (a couple of tablespoons at a time) and mixed until the dough was the perfect consistency.
After a few minutes of kneading by hand, the dough was ready to bake.
So I split it into 10 equal-sized pieces...
And rolled them into balls and placed them on a greased baking sheet.
And after 15 minutes in a 350 degree oven, the buns were done!
Don't they look delish?
At Calle Ocho, the buns are served with a black bean paste, so I tried to replicate things (without a recipe this time). I dumped some canned black beans into my food processor, along with some cumin, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper (I might have added too much pepper to be perfectly frank!).
After a few pulses...
My faux-Calle Ocho Yucca Buns and bean dip were ready to be enjoyed!
The buns were cheesy, and pretty similar to the ones from Calle Ocho, so I would consider this recipe a keeper!
If you'd like to try this Cuban delight in your own kitchen, here's the recipe:
Yucca Buns
Recipe courtesy of Kitchen Confit
Ingredients:
1 cup tapioca flour, plus extra for kneading
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 cups Oaxaca cheese or mozzarella, finely grated
2 large egg yolks
2 to 3 tablespoons heavy cream, if necessary
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking pan with aluminum foil, and coat with nonstick cooking spray. Combine the tapioca flour and baking powder together in a large bowl. Stir in the cheese and egg yolks. Mix until the dough forms a ball. Lightly flour a work surface and turn the dough out. Knead the dough with your hands until the dough is smooth, even-textured, and not sticky. If the dough doesn’t come together or seems too stiff, then add cream, 1 tablespoon at a time, until it comes together and feels supple. Divide the dough into 10 even pieces and with your hands, roll each into a ball. Shape the balls into ovals and place them 1-inch apart on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until the rolls are pale gold (not browned), about 15 to 20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 5 to 10 minutes and serve while still warm.
Thanks for visiting- I hope you have a great weekend!!
