Caribbean Yuca Flatbread (Casabe)

The most common way Caribbean Indigenous peoples prepared and consumed yuca was in the form of a hard, unleavened, flatbread called casabe. The recipe consists of two ingredients: cassava and salt. It may seem easy, but it takes practice to master the technique. On the French-speaking islands, the bread is called pain de kassav, and in the Spanish-speaking islands, it is called pan de casabe.

1 pound cassava (yuca root) Salt to taste.

1. Wash and peel the yuca (cassava).
2. Using a grater, grate the yuca using the finest section.
3. Using cheesecloth or a clean cotton towel, squeeze the grated cassava to remove as much moisture as possible and discard the liquid.
4. Add salt to the yuca mixture and stir it in well. Break up any lumps.
5. Divide grated yuca into equal parts and set aside. Depending on how big you want your casabe to be; I suggest 4 to 10 equal divisions.
6. Heat a frying pan (a cast-iron skillet works well). Do not add any oil.
7. When the pan is hot, place a quantity of grated yuca in the middle of the pan.
8. Spread it out with a spatula, or back of a spoon, into a thin circular cake.
9. Cook until the bottom is golden, then flip and cook the other side until golden.
10. You may serve casabe warm or allow it to cool for storage. Cooled casabe is hard like a cracker.