How to make Cativía (Cassava Flour)

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We already have a recipe of captivation (or citation, we'll talk about this later) in our collection, so this may seem confusing. Let me start by clarifying that the word captivates technically refers to flour made from cassava, but the Dominicans use it to also describe an empanada made from this flour.

Captivation is a very old meal, and what I found in the research process is partly what made me decide to write this recipe and modify that one.

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The first thing to know is that the Captivity is part of our Tainan heritage, and was an essential part of their diet, as they used it to make cassava (which is done with captivity that is not completely dry). We are lucky that the writers of the colonial period paid attention and wrote on the subject . That's why we have enough information about how it was prepared, and about its importance in the taína diet.

The captivity (or cation, as it is preferred in Cuba 1 ) was made during the pre-Columbian era with methods that required a great physical effort, more so because the type of cassavaused was toxic if not prepared properly, this toxic was eliminated in the process of preparing captivation. The draw liquid cassava eliminated much of the toxic, and other dishes, the Tainos also fermented cassava for the same purpose 2 . We are lucky that today the type of cassava that Dominicans can buy anywhere is non-toxic and we can prepare it in many other ways.

Frying was not part of the indigenous culinary repertoire, these empanadas are therefore one of the earliest examples of mestizo cuisine, Creole cuisine. Both the filling and the type of cooking of the insurance captives empanadas arrived with our Iberian or African ancestors

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If you ask yourself what the purpose is to prepare something that can already be bought, I guarantee that it is not a clumsy ludicrous exercise, or misinformed purism. The answer is not that I have fallen into a kind of culinary prescriptivism, it is simply a practical matter. I explain…

As I mentioned before, Dominicans use the name captivation to describe the empanadas made with this, and if I remember correctly, it is one of the first recipes we were asked for more than 15 years ago. Since then we have rewritten the recipe several times, always seeking to clarify the instructions to make it easier to follow. The only requirement so far is that you could find cassava, the essential ingredient, but this is not easy in some parts of the world, cassava, contrary to the potato, did not extend far beyond its place of origin.

The purpose of this recipe is to be able to modify the empanadas to allow that, whether you have fresh cassava by hand and make your own captivation, or find captivation in the supermarket (called tapioca in other places), you can use the same recipe make the empanadas. And if you do, or find captivation, you can also use it to prepare a dessert that we created a few months ago.

Captiva (Cassava Flour, or Tapioca)

Preparation

15 mins

Cooking

23 hr 45 mins

Total Time

1 d

Cativía, or Catibía (Cassava Flour, Tapioca), is one of the oldest ingredients of our cuisine, and the base of several dishes, including cassava empanadas

Type: Basic

Cuisines: Caribbean, Dominican

Serves : 2 cups

Calories : 424 kcal

Ingredients

• 1.17 lb cassava [530g], peeled and washed

Instructions

1. Grate the cassava using the thin side of the guayo (grater).
2. Using a clean cotton cloth, squeeze the cassava until you draw as much liquid as possible. Discard is liquid. It will have the texture and consistency of grated Parmesan cheese.
3. Water on a tray and refrigerate for 24 hours, stirring approximately every four hours to dry evenly (see notes). Lock and discard the lumps.