In Cuba, cooks fry yuca in large chunks, which is fine for a side dish. But when I started playing with yuca as an appetizer for my parties at home, I came up with French fry–sized yuca fingers, more delicate and attractive and also easier to handle, like the yuca fries I had seen in other Latin American countries. 

These fries are a perfect accompaniment for my Grilled “Leaping Frog” Chicken.

This recipe comes from Gran Cocina Latina: The Food of Latin America by Maricel E. Presilla, which is being published by W.W. Norton & Company, Inc. in October 2012.