Vigorón

Ingredients

Yuca

• 1.2 kgyuca (cassava), peeled, woody core removed, in 8 cm lengths
• 2 litreswater
• 2 tspsalt
• 3garlic cloves, crushed
• 1sour orange or 1 lime, halved

Chicharron

• 800 gpork belly with skin, in 4 cm pieces
• 300 mlwater
• 1 tbspsalt
• Juice of 1 sour orange
• 4garlic cloves, crushed

Curtido (cabbage salad)

• ½white cabbage (about 500 g), very finely shredded
• 2tomatoes, deseeded and finely diced
• 1onion, very finely sliced
• 1chiltoma (green sweet pepper), finely diced
• 120 mlwhite vinegar
• 60 mlwater
• Juice of 2 limes
• 1 tspsalt
• 1chilli congo or 1 habanero, finely sliced, or a spoonful of chilli vinegar

To serve

• 4 piecesof banana leaf, about 30 cm, wilted over a flame
• 1lime, in wedges
• Chilli vinegar, on the table

Directions

1. Make the curtido first so it has time to soften. Toss the cabbage, tomato, onion and chiltoma with the vinegar, water, lime juice, salt and chilli, press it down in a bowl and leave at room temperature for at least 1 hour, turning it twice.
2. Peel the yuca thickly, cutting away both the brown bark and the pink layer underneath, then split each length and pull out the tough central fibre.
3. Boil the yuca in the salted water with the garlic and the halved citrus for 25–35 minutes, until a knife goes in with no resistance and the pieces are just starting to split and go translucent at the edges.
4. Drain and keep warm; do not let it sit in the water or it goes waterlogged. Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for 30–40 minutes until the water has gone completely.
5. Keep the heat at medium and let the pieces fry in their own fat for 20–25 minutes, turning them, until the meat is deep brown and the skin has blistered and puffed. Raise the heat for the last 2–3 minutes to crisp the skin hard.
6. Drain on a rack for 5 minutes and chop into rough bite-sized pieces with a heavy knife. Wilt the banana leaves over a flame for a few seconds each side until glossy and pliable, and lay one on each plate.
7. Squeeze lime over, put the chilli vinegar on the table, and eat it immediately with your fingers, straight off the leaf, with no cutlery.

Technique

• Vigoron was created in Granada in 1914 by Maria Luisa Cisneros Lacayo, who sold it near the city’s central park; it is one of the few Nicaraguan dishes with a documented inventor and it is still strongly associated with that plaza.
• Remove the woody core of the yuca. It never softens, and leaving it in is the commonest mistake. Peel deep enough to take off the pink layer too.
• Never boil the chicharron in oil. Simmering in water first and then letting it fry in its own rendered fat is what gives crisp skin over tender meat instead of hard, dry cubes.
• The three parts must go together hot yuca, cold sharp curtido, hot crisp pork and be eaten straight away; assembled early, the vinegar softens the crackling and the whole point is lost.

Substitutions

• No fresh yuca: frozen cassava is widely sold and is often better than tired fresh roots, and it boils in about 20 minutes. Never eat cassava raw or undercooked.
• Sour orange can be replaced by 2 parts orange juice to 1 part lime juice.
• For the curtido, red cabbage works and looks striking, though the classic is white.

Variations

• Vaho, the related Granada dish of beef, plantain and yuca steamed together in banana leaf.
• Vigoron with a pile of fried pork rinds only, no meat attached, sold in some markets.
• Enchiladas nicaraguenses and vigoron sold side by side at the same stalls in Granada.

History

Created in Granada in 1914 by Maria Luisa Cisneros Lacayo, who named her cassava, chicharron and cabbage dish after a health tonic advertisement.

Frequently asked questions

What is Vigorón?

Vigorón is a street food from Nicaragua: boiled yuca, chicharrón, and cabbage salad on banana leaf. Created in Granada in 1914 by Maria Luisa Cisneros Lacayo, who named her cassava, chicharron and cabbage dish after a health tonic advertisement.

How long does Vigorón take to make?

Vigorón takes 30 min plus 1 hr for the curtido of preparation and 1 hr 15 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Vigorón?

Yes, within limits. No fresh yuca: frozen cassava is widely sold and is often better than tired fresh roots, and it boils in about 20 minutes. Never eat cassava raw or undercooked. Sour orange can be replaced by 2 parts orange juice to 1 part lime juice. For the curtido, red cabbage works and looks striking, though the classic is white.

What is the most important thing to get right in Vigorón?

Drain and keep warm; do not let it sit in the water or it goes waterlogged. Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for 30–40 minutes until the water has gone completely.