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1
Boil the yuca until tender
30 Mins
Gentle boil, about 100°C (212°F)
Put the yuca chunks in a large pot, cover with cold water by about 3 cm and add 2 g of the salt. Bring to the boil over high heat, then lower to a gentle boil and cook for 25 to 30 minutes, until a fork goes in easily but the pieces still hold their shape. Drain, pull out the woody core from each piece, and keep warm.
Do not overcook it — mushy yuca falls apart under the salad.
Done when: Fork-tender, pieces whole, woody core removed.
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2
Make the curtido cabbage salad
15 Mins
Room temperature, large bowl
Put the shredded cabbage in a bowl, cover with cold water and leave for 10 minutes to crisp up, then drain well. Add the tomato, onion, carrot, jalapeño and cilantro, and toss with the lime juice, vinegar and the remaining 2 g of salt. Leave to mingle for at least 10 minutes so the cabbage softens slightly and takes up the dressing.
The cold-water soak is what keeps the cabbage crisp instead of limp.
Done when: Cabbage bright and crisp, dressing sharp and tangy.
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3
Break up the chicharrones
2 Mins
Room temperature
Break the pork rinds into large, bite-sized pieces. Do this at the last minute — chicharrones go soft fast once they sit in the salad's moisture.
Keep them big: small crumbs disappear into the slaw.
Done when: Large, crisp pieces, still crackling.
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4
Build the vigoron on the leaf
5 Mins
Warm yuca, salad at room temperature
Lay a banana leaf on each plate. Put a generous mound of warm yuca on the leaf, pile the chicharrones over it, and spoon a large helping of curtido on top so the salad's juices run down over the yuca. Serve at once, with lime wedges if you like.
Serve straight away — the contrast of hot yuca, cold sharp salad and crisp pork is the dish.
Done when: Layered on the leaf: yuca, pork, then salad on top.
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5
Eat it with your fingers
3 Mins
Hot, straight from the leaf
Vigoron is traditionally eaten without cutlery — pick up a piece of yuca, wrap it in a little salad and a piece of chicharron, and eat it in one bite. The leaf is the plate; fold it up when you are done.
A fork works too, but the fingers are the Granada way.
Done when: Served hot and eaten at once.
auto_awesome Finishing Touches & Plating
Eat the vigoron the minute it is built — hot yuca, cold sharp curtido and crackling pork all at once is exactly what makes it a Granada favourite.
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