Oct

Call 911, My Banana Leaves Are Burning!

I have writers block today. I am trying to write about this new dessert I tried this past weekend. How do you present the main ingredient and be interesting when after all, it is just a root. Yes, a root, and its name is Yucca, otherwise known as Cassava. It is a shrub of the spurge family, native to South America. Most of the use is the root of the plant but the leaves can also be used as well. Tapioca balls are also made from cassava, which I did not know. Just like other root vegetables, this one is starchy and is related to potatoes and yams. I was making Bibingka Cassava which is a Filipino dessert. There are different versions of the recipe. One version uses rice flour. The version I made came from a cookbook called Memories of a Philippine Kitchens which I currently am waiting for in the mail. I ordered it based on the great reviews that others have given it and after browsing the recipes. The Bibingka Cassava in this book contains gouda cheese, eggs, coconut milk, grated coconut, and sugar and also contains a topping which has vanilla bean, brown sugar and coconut milk. The dish is also baked surrounded by banana leaves. I had the leaves already frozen. I took them out and allowed them to thaw so that they would be pliable. I also cleaned off the leaves and dried them. I lined my baking dish with the leaves allowing the leaves to hang over the side of the dish. They were big leaves and I needed to lay down two layers in the dish.

I got all of the ingredients together and the cheese shredded and the cassava wrung dry. The cassava was frozen and needed to be thawed and dried. It took me three dishtowels and several paper towels to get it just damp, but most of the water was squeezed out. I mixed my eggs and sugar and added the coconut milk, coconut, cassava, and butter.

Grated cassava

Then I poured everything into the 9 by 13 inch dish with the banana leaves. The grated cheese was sprinkled over top of it. The instructions had stated to cook the bibingka for 25 minutes or until firm. It required 45 minutes. It was a good thing I had some yummy chicken satay on the grill to eat while I was passing the time!

Also while waiting I had prepared the topping. After the bibingka was firm, I poured the brown sugar, vanilla, coconut milk mixture over top of it.

So far so good. Everything was looking great and I was excited about the next part which was broiling the topping until it was bubbly and crisp and the sugar had carmelized. I put the dish under the broiler. In less than a minute I look into the stove and I see the banana leaves on fire and ashes blowing all over! In a panic I pulled it out of the oven and tried to fix the damage. Luckily, the bibingka itself was fine, but most of the leaves which had hung over were burnt and flaking off, some of it into the cake, and thankfully only on the edges. I took a spoon and picked out of stray burnt leaf pieces that were stuck in the topping. Carefully I put it back into the oven, but this time a little farther from the broiler. I let it go another minute or so, and then took it out, this time for good. My kitchen had a slightly smoky odor from the burnt banana leaves but the bibingka looked beautiful, so I was happy. Thinking back on when I had been laying the leaves, I realized I should have cut the leaves off at the edge of the pan and not allowed any to stick out. But hindsight is 20/20. Later my hubby and I tried it and it was delicious. Also, actually after reading online to see if anyone else had this embarrasing incident, I found out that some find the faint slighty smoky odor of the banana leaves to incorporate a special flavor into the bibingka. Again, that probably depends on the region you grew up in, or how your Filipino relative prepared the recipe. A word to the wise: if you are ever cooking with any plant material, make sure it is slightly damp and keep it far away from any heating elements. Or make sure that your insurance covers fire by banana leaves.