Nicaraguan Vigoron: Yuca with Farmers-Market Cabbage Curtido and Lime

Make the curtido first so it has time to soften: toss the shredded cabbage, tomato, onion and chili in a bowl with the vinegar, lime juice, salt and sugar.

Serves 6

Ingredients

• 2 pounds yuca (cassava), peeled and cut into 3-inch chunks
• 1/2 head green cabbage, very finely shredded
• 2 ripe farmers-market tomatoes, diced
• 1 small white onion, thinly sliced
• 1 fresh chili, thinly sliced (optional)
• 1/3 cup white vinegar
• Juice of 2 limes, plus wedges to serve
• 1 teaspoon salt, plus more for the cooking water
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• Banana leaves or large lettuce leaves, for serving

Instructions

1. Make the curtido first so it has time to soften: toss the shredded cabbage, tomato, onion and chili in a bowl with the vinegar, lime juice, salt and sugar.
2. Press the mixture down firmly with your hands or the back of a spoon, then cover and set aside at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, tossing once or twice.
3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of well-salted water to a rolling boil. Add the yuca chunks and cook for 20 to 25 minutes, until a knife slides in with no resistance and the edges are just beginning to fray.
4. Drain the yuca and let it steam dry for a minute or two. Pull out and discard the tough woody cord running through the center of each piece.
5. Line a platter or individual plates with banana leaves and pile the warm yuca in the middle.
6. Give the curtido a final toss, taste it for salt and acid, and stir in most of the cilantro.
7. Heap the cold, crunchy curtido directly over the hot yuca so the juices soak down into it.
8. Scatter with the remaining cilantro and serve immediately with lime wedges, eaten with your hands the way it is sold in the markets of Granada.
9. Vigoron was born in the market stalls of Granada, Nicaragua, in the 1910s and remains one of the country's great street foods: nothing more than boiled yuca, a vinegary cabbage salad and lime, served on a banana leaf. Its genius is the temperature and texture contrast, hot starchy yuca against ice-cold crunchy slaw, and it is the perfect thing to make when late-summer cabbage and tomatoes are at their cheapest and best.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

• Calories: 260 kcal
• Protein: 3g
• Fat: 1g
• Carbohydrates: 60g
• Fiber: 5g
• Sugar: 6g
• Sodium: 480mg