Chipa

Ingredients:
5 cups Yuca Starch
2 tsp. baking powder
6 eggs
500g Cheese (crumbled or grated)
8 tbs. Lard, butter or Crisco
1 tbs anise seeds
1 cup milk
salt (about 1 and a half tbsp.)

Directions:
Sift the yuca startch with the baking powder. Mix the yuca starch and the eggs in a very large bowl. Add the lard, and the the cheese. Mix all together until it is evenly distributed. Dissolve the salt into the milk and add it to the mixture along with the anise. Knead until the dough is smooth.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees (it is very imporatant to preheat the oven, if they stay in the oven for to long they turn out hard). Shape the dough as you like, rings, balls or oval shapes (make sure they are not to thick or to big). Bake for 12-18 minutes (depending on the size) on a slightly greased baking pan. They are done when they golden brown and crispy outside, and chewy inside (be sure to not open the oven while it is cooking).

Enjoy with a hot cup of Cocido!

SOPA PARAGUAYA

In Paraguay, if you ask for soup they will give you something similar to cornbread instead of something liquid!

The legend of this traditional Paraguayan dish was born when President Carlos Antonio Lopez´ cook had to prepare a meal for the president and his special guests. His idea was to make a soup that consisted of corn meal. By mistake during the preparation of the dish, the cook used more cornmeal than usual resulting in a thick mixture. The cook tried to undo the error by finishing it off in a clay oven, resulting in some sort of cornbread. The president and his guests had really enjoyed the dish and wanted to know the name of it, the cook answered Soup! It has been called ¨sopa¨ ever since.

Ingredients:
1Kg. corn meal
1/2 cup oil
2 medium onions
1/2 Kg. cheese
6 eggs
1 lt. milk
salt

Directions:
Saute onions with a little bit of the oil (they should not brown). In a bowl, beat the eggs. Add the milk and the rest of the oil. Mix all the ingredients together. The mixture should be similar to cake mixture. Grease a baking pan and pour in mixture. Bake for about an hour at a high temp. It is done when it is solid and brown on the sides.

Milanesa

(No, I did not make this one)


Meat (preferably sirloin or tenderloin)chicken breast or pork tenderloin
cloves of garlic (minced)
cumin
salt
lemon-pepper
flour bread crumbs (seasoned if prefered)
eggs
1 tbsp of milk for each egg
oil for deep frying

Place each slice of beef between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap or in a plastic bag; pound to 1/2-inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Rub each piece of steak on both sides with garlic,cumin salt,lemon-pepper.

Prepare 3 shallow baking dishes. Put flour in one, beaten eggs(with milk) in another and breadcrumbs in the third. Start with moderate amounts; you can always add more as needed.

Dip a slice of beef in the egg mixture. Coat evenly and completely. Next dip the beef in flour, pat it so that it will coat evenly. Gently shake off excess flour. Again dip in the egg mixture and then the bread crumbs, pat again. Shake off excess. Try not to handle the meat too much. If there are uncovered spots on the slice of beef round, sprinkle bread crumbs on the area and gently pat it down. Repeat with the remaining slices of beef.
Heat the oil in a frying pan. Enough oil for th meat to swim in it. The oil should be very hot.
Fry each slice of beef on each side for 1 to 2 minutes or until golden brown. If the oil gets to dirty then you should strain it and continue.
You can serve this with either potatoe salad, green salad, french fries or the typical arroz quesu.


Arroz Quesu (cheese Rice, Risotto)
1 cup of rice
2 cups of water
1/4 cup milk
Mozzarella or Queso Paraguay
1 tbsp grated cheese
a pinch of nutmeg
salt
pepper

Cook the rice with the two cups of water in a pot. When it is cooked, drain out the water. Add the milk, cheeses and the rest of the ingredients. Serve hot!

Chipa Guasu

I love Chipa Guasu, just love it. It is similar to corn souflle. You can eat it by it self or as a side dish.
2 medium size onions
1 stick of butter or 1/3 cup of oil
1 tbsp oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup of fresh cheese (queso Paraguay, Mozzarella or Munster)
3/4 cup milk
6 cups fresh corn kernels
salt

Heat the oil in a skillet and sauté the onion over medium heat until translucent (not brown). Place the corn kernels, eggs, milk, water and salt in a food processer or blender, blend all together. Transfer the mixture into a mixing bowl and add the sautéed onions and cheese. Place mixture in a buttered baking pan or muffin tins. Bake until stiff and browned on top (about 45 min).

Yerba Mate

Every household in Paraguay has to have Yerba. Nationals can´t live without it, you can compare it to Americans and coffee. It is a tea-like drink that can be made or drank many different ways. (You can read all about Yerba Mate here)

My favorite way to drink it is Cocido Quemado (burnt yerba mate). This is originally made burning the sugar and yerba with charcoal.

Recipe:
4 tbs yerba mate
3 tbs sugar
3 cups hot of water
milk or cream

Place the yerba and sugar in a pot on high heat. The sugar starts caramelizing and sticking to the yerba, forming clumps. When this happens add the hot water (stand back, be very careful!! caramelized sugar plus liquid equals explosion) let it boil. Strain it like any other tea or coffee. add however much sugar, milk ,or cream desired.