Do try this at home: Another holiday side dish à la FIU student-chefs

Our Panther Holiday Cooking Special continues with FIU student-chef Laura Mañon showing us how to make a yucca and butternut squash with pecan and cippolini onion topping mash.

FIU student-chefs Rodney Barchi '04, Laura Mañon and Christian Poole, whetting our appetites with the delicious meal they prepared for our Panther Holiday Cooking Special.

Yesterday, we shared with you the recipe and how-to video for one of the dishes – an acorn squash soufflé – that FIU student-chef Christian Poole prepared for this alternative seasonal menu we thought the Panther family could savor around the holiday table this year.

Today, Poole’s fellow School of Hospitality and Tourism Management student, Laura Mañon, shows us how to make a yucca and butternut squash with pecan and cippolini onion topping dish that, trust us, will leave you wanting more.

Twenty-seven-year-old Mañon, who’s from Puerto Rico, wanted to feature yucca in this menu because the starch is one that is underutilized in American kitchens.

“It’s a great substitute for potato,” she said, “so I wanted to introduce that here. By the way, the skin of the yucca is something else – you definitely don’t want to eat it. It’s not a good flavor and not a good texture, so unlike with potato you want to make sure you peel it all off.”

Yucca and Butternut Squash with Pecan and Cippolini Onion Mash

Laura Mañon's yucca and butternut squash with pecan and cippolini onion topping mash.

Serves 4

For the mash:

1 medium butternut squash, cut in half and seeded
1 lb. of yucca, peeled and quartered (to remove fibrous center)
½ cup of cream, as needed
4 oz. of butter
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
Salt and pepper, as needed

For the topping:

4 oz. of pecans
4 oz. of cippolini onions (small stewing onions), peeled, the ends cut and halved
1 tablespoon of butter
1 tablespoon of olive oil
2 sage leaves, cut in fine ribbons
1/8 of a tablespoon of nutmeg
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
A small pinch of cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon of cider vinegar
Salt and pepper, as needed

Preheat the oven at 350 degrees. Boil salted water in pot.

Place the squash halves in a sheet tray and rub with 2 oz. of the butter, sprinkle with brown sugar and season with salt and pepper. Place in oven for approximately 30-40 minutes or until fork-tender but not brown.

In the meantime, cut the yucca quarters in half and cook in boiling water until fork-tender. Heat the cream and remaining 2 oz. of butter in a saucepot, but do not boil. Once the squash and yucca are cooked, combine them, add cream and butter mixture little by little and mash until smooth. The mixture can be further processed with a food processor or hand mixer to create a smoother mash.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

For the topping, place the pecans in a sautéing pan on medium low heat and toast for 1 minute (being very careful not to let the pecans burn). Add the butter, olive oil and cippolini onions. After 2 minutes, add the rest of the ingredients, excluding the salt and pepper, and continue cooking for approximately 8-10 minutes until the onions tender and caramelize (look for a golden-brown color).

Finally, season with salt and pepper to taste.

Top your mash with the topping, serve and enjoy.