Be very careful about using the Yucca root. More likely than not, this is actually a
yuca root (one "c" in the name; the yucca plant with two "c's" is an ornamental plant not usually used for food). The yuca root is also known as cassava (see the Wikipedia entry here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassava ). You have to be careful about using yuca because it comes in bitter and non-bitter varieties, and the bitter variety can be toxic if not prepared properly because it contains cyanide. I stumbled upon this because there is a recipe in Lorna Sass's book,
Great Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure, which calls for some of these Central/South American root vegetables, and I researched them ahead of time like Lizzy_F is doing. I decided to cross Yuca/Cassava off my list because I did not want to have to worry about not preparing it properly and ending up poisoning myself or my family.