For the stew:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
3 celery stalks, thinly sliced crosswise (about 1 1/2 cups)
3 medium carrots, cut into 1/2 inch-thick slices (about 1 1/2 cups)
2 whole canned plum tomatoes, sliced into 1/2 inch-thick slices, plus 2 tablespoons liquid
4 cloves garlic, smashed
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 bone-in, skin-on split chicken breasts, cut in half crosswise (about 1 pound total)
4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 12 ounces total)
1 quart chicken broth
3 cups water
1 cup long-grain white rice
10 to 12 stems fresh cilantro with leaves
2 sprigs fresh mint
3 medium red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1 inch cubes
1 medium zucchini, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1/2 inch-thick pieces crosswise (about 1 cup)
For the Assembly
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped
2 limes, cut into wedges
1 ripe avocado, cut into1/4 inch cubes
Pickled jalapeño chiles, to taste

This one-pot meal is easy to assemble and more nurturing than a can of chicken noodle soup. Satisfying in its simplicity, and perfect for when you’re feeling run down.

With Latin American Cuisine, we explore the wide world of food in South and Central America. Check back each week for recipes from Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina, Nicaragua, Peru, and beyond.
The crispier, creamier cousin to french fried potatoes, yuca frita is a side dish and snack food found all over Latin America. In Cuba, it’s served with a garlicky mojo sauce (or if you’re at a Cuban restaurant in New York, more likely a cilantro sauce, originating from Victor’s Cafe). In Colombia, you’ll find them with a loose guacamole-like ají de aguacate, or in the snack aisle next to the potato chips. Head over to Peru, and it’s a creamy cheese and chili sauce.

You can take the cheat-y route and make fried yuca (also known as cassava) out of a frozen bag, but unlike french fries, frozen yuca fries are invariably terrible, with a dry, stringy texture. There’s also no point, considering how simple it is to make fried yuca out of fresh yuca—heck, it’s even easier than making french fries.

The first step is par-boiling. Just like with potatoes, par-cooking yuca accomplishes two goals. First, is washes off excess starch which can burn, turning the yuca chips an unappealing dark brown and giving them a bitter flavor. Secondly—and more importantly!—it begins to break down the tough cell structure of the root, which is even stronger than that of a potato. Without par-cooking, a yuca root would be burnt before the interior ever softened.

Par-cooking also causes the surfaces and edges of the yuca to fray, increasing surface area and maximizing crunch factor.