If you’re interested in easy cooking, you certainly can’t do any better than a malanga mash, also learn everything about yautía, our beloved root vegetable.
Why we ❤️ it
Puré de yautía, o yautía majada (malanga mash) is not as commonly found on our table as mangú (mashed plantains), boiled yuca, or auyama mash, but it is one of our traditional breakfast dishes.
What's yautía?
Yautia is a culinary family of root vegetables that are not all members of the same botanical family, among them yautia blanca (Xanthosoma sagittifolium, dasheen, malanga blanca), yautia amarilla (Xanthosoma atrovirens, malanga amarilla), and yautia morada (Xanthosoma violaceum, malanga morada).
Yautia coco (Colocasia esculenta, malanga coco, taro, or cocoyam) is a different species.
The genus of Colocasia plants is native to tropical America, while the genus Xanthosoma is native to Asia and India. They thrive in our region as they do in all tropical climates, and are also very popular in Cuba and Puerto Rico.
You can read more about the different types of yautias, the names for yautias in English, and see photos in our article about Dominican and Caribbean root vegetables.
Taste and appearance
Yautias are elongated roots with reddish-brown thin skin, and potato-like flesh. The yautias in the Colocasia family differ in the color of the flesh: white yautia root has white flesh, yellow yautia has yellow flesh, and purple yautia has light purple flesh.
Once cooked, yautias have a flavor and consistency vaguely similar to potato, and with only a slight difference among each other. Cocoyam has a different texture and appearance, with purple specks and a more granular flesh when cooked.
Nutritional value
Yautía is a high-starch, carbohydrate-rich root vegetable. 100 grams of yautia contains:
Calories 98 | Total Fat 0.4g | Saturated Fat 0.1g | Cholesterol 0 | Sodium 21mg | Total Carbohydrate 24g | Dietary Fiber 1.5g | Protein 1.5g | Vitamin D 0.00mcg | Vitamin C 0 | Calcium 9.00mg | Iron 0.98mg | Potassium 598mg.
How to peel yautía
You can peel yautía with a potato peeler or paring knife, the thin brown peel is removed very easily. Wash it after peeling.
How to cook yautía
Yautias are usually boiled and served as mash, or boiled in pieces as a side dish. They are also added to soups and stews (like sancocho), or – less commonly – as fried chips. Yautia can also be added to pasteles en hoja.
The cocoyam has edible leaves, though not commonly consumed in our country.
Serving suggestions
Yautía, if done correctly, produces a creamy, mild-flavored mash that goes great with our cebollas salteadas served with queso frito for breakfast. It can also be served with chuletas fritas, longaniza, pollo guisado (Dominican chicken), and cerdo guisado (braised pork).
About this recipe
For this recipe, I have used yautía blanca, as it's the most common one here, but you can use yellow yautía or purple yautía. Cocoyam (yautía coco) has a different texture and consistency, so the recipe will not work exactly the same.
This recipe yields 4 servings of about ¾ cup of puree. Double the recipe for a larger serving.
Recipe
![Puré de Yautía [Malanga Mash]](https://beta.dominicancooking.com/wp-content/uploads/mashed-yautia-recipe-ClaraGon3691.jpg)
[Recipe + Video] Puré de Yautía (Malanga Mash)
Ingredients
- 1½ pound yautía (malanga), [0.7 kg]
- 1 tablespoon salt, (plus more for seasoning at the end)
- ½ stick butter (salted), [113 grams]
- ¾ cup milk (whole or skim)
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- Dominican sauteed red onions, (optional)
Instructions
Peel: Peel the yautía with a potato peeler or paring knife, removing the thin brown skin.Chop the yautía and rinse.
Boil: Place the rinsed yautía in a pot, and add sufficient water to cover it plus a couple of inches [5 cm]. Add ¾ tablespoon of the salt to the water.Boil until they are fork-soft. Once boiled remove from the water and discard the water.
Mash: Mash until the mixture is very smooth and there aren't any lumps (a potato ricer or food mill [Amazon affiliate links] is perfect for it).
Mix: Incorportate butter, and then mix in the milk. Incorporate the garlic powder. Taste and season with salt to taste if you find it necessary.- Serve: Cover with the sauteed onion, and serve.
Video
Nutrition
Nutritional information is calculated automatically based on ingredients listed. Please consult your doctor if you need precise nutritional information.
