In a couple of days this fruit/vegetables I didn’t know about is everywhere around me… it all first started when I stopped at Tsukuba station to buy something for lunch at the station store selling local products. I wanted their super delicious 100% carrot juice but they didn’t have it anymore… so I had to improvise and chose a yogurt made of Ibaraki milk and seasoned with yakon. I really like the soft, sweet and subtle flavor. I then discovered that apparently, though yakon is originally from South America, it grows very well in Ibaraki apparently since the 1980’s. But not only, just the next day I found yakon at our local farmers market in Isumi. Enough to convince me to try cooking them. To be honest I have not been very extravagant with this new fruit/vegetable and I mainly used it with other vegetables, in soup or sautéed, as a replacement of potatoes. I did a bit of reading and found that it can actually be used raw or cooked, for sweet or savory recipes… too much at once for me. I first need to get used to the taste before I can accommodate it in complex and fancy recipes. In particular because yakon doesn’t have a strong flavor. Yet the texture is very interesting and it’s French name “poire de terre” suits it very well for the fresh and crispy texture it keeps even cooked.

My first trial was on a simple vegetables soup, with carrots and leeks. I didn’t bother peeling them, just washing thoroughly. As I said, it keeps it crispy texture which was great, even better than potatoes that become too creamy and soft sometimes. This took me then to another trial…

For the second recipe, you’ve already saw the picture in the last post, as yacon was part of the plate I prepared with the tatsoi, and the duck. I simply peel and cut in sticks, and panfry in a bit of oil them until golden like French fries. Again, it was great. Really crispy both from the frying and the texture of the yacon. Loved it!! what I learned in preparing them is that they oxyde very quickly and turn brownish. So better cook them quick after peeling and cutting.

Now I need to find some again and continue exploring how to use it!