A new veg in town

A mysterious new root to zest up your meals

I get a veg box every week from those lovely people at Riverford Organic and really appreciate the delicious, fresh vegetables and weekly update from Guy Watson (an insight into the trials and tribulations of organic farming..). On the odd occasion there is an extra special treat in the box, like this week's sunflower head for the birds in the garden, and a couple of weeks ago there was a mysterious new vegetable.

I saw the box of sandy soil covered red knobbly roots and wondered what on earth they were. They looked a little like jerusalem artichokes (also introduced to me by Riverford) and a little like small lumpy potatoes.  Guy's note informed me that they were called Oca and he included some recipes to try.

Oca, fresh from the farm

Oca roots are actually the roots of a herbaceous plant, oxalis tuberosa.  They are originally from the Andes and are also known as New Zealand Yam. Apparently they don't get blight like potatoes and can be used as an alternative. 

I discovered that Oca has a slightly lemon taste. The flesh is firm but juicy and crisp when eaten raw or lightly cooked, becoming more starchy if fully cooked. The tubers don’t require peeling when eating Oca raw - just wash them clean, and they can be sliced to add a hint of a lemony zest to salads.

Oca, after a wash

They can also be cooked in the same way as potatoes - boiled, baked, grilled or fried. Adding them to winter soups and stews is also an option. 

I decided to try them, initially, in a vegetable salad, raw and thinly sliced.  I added lightly steamed green beans, some chopped cooked beetroot, raw carrot strips and parsley.  I then made a yogurt dressing with a dash of mustard, mixed it all together and served it with some simple grilled chicken. The resulting salad was very fresh and zesty, the lemon hint worked really well with the chicken and the juicy crunch was refreshing.

Sliced oca

Salad ingredients

Vegetable salad 

Since then I have also tried oca in a stir fry with red peppers, chilli and broccoli, in that dish it reminded me of water chestnuts.  

If you get a chance give oca a try, and if you do I'd love to hear what you think of it so leave me a comment below.

Also, here is a link to those wonderful people at Riverford Organic..

https://www.riverford.co.uk/pet