Chipa guazú
A Paraguayan fresh-corn bake mixed with Queso Paraguay, onion, eggs and milk, served in moist squares.
Traditional method
Mbejú campaña (Paraguayan crumbly cassava-starch griddle cake)
Mbeju campaña · Mbejú · Mbeju · Mbejú campaña · Mbeyu
A Paraguayan mbejú campaña made by rubbing cassava starch, queso Paraguay and fat into a loose, sandy mixture. Small scoops are gently pressed into skillet cakes, which bind as the cheese heats.
Keep the starch loose
Carmen Chovo's mbeju campaña is mixed by rubbing the starch, cheese and fat together. The mixture stays nearly sandy and loose, then is spooned and pressed gently on a hot skillet. This recipe does not call for a smooth dough or a baked cheese bread.
Sources for this section
History
This entry records Carmen Chovo's Paraguayan mbeju campaña. Its nearly sandy cassava-starch mixture is pressed gently in a hot pan and bound by the heating cheese; it should not be turned into a smooth dough. The exact first attestation is not established by the inspected recipe.
Ingredients
Yield 5 medium mbeju · Scaling: source batch only
500 g
almidón de mandioca or aramirõQueso ParaguayWork together with the fat.
250 g
Fat
125 g
The source does not specify the type of fat.Milk or water (optional)
50 mL
Use only if needed; the source gives milk or water as alternatives.to taste
Method
Risks and precautions · Standard risk
Hot skillet
The method uses a very hot heavy pan that can burn hands or cause burns if it shifts.
Hazard sourceUnpasteurized dairy
The recipe specifies cheese and optional milk without saying whether they are pasteurized.
Hazard sourceUse a stable skillet and a lid or utensil to turn the cake; protect hands from the hot pan.
Control sourceChoose pasteurized cheese and milk.
Control sourceThe mixture is crumbly by design; use small amounts of liquid, and do not handle the hot skillet or lid without protection. Choose pasteurized cheese and milk.
- Work the fat and queso Paraguay together until they are well combined.
- Add the cassava starch and rub it through the cheese-fat mixture with your fingers until the base is nearly sandy. Do not knead it into a smooth dough.
- Add a very small amount of milk or water only if needed. Keep the mixture loose and crumbly rather than bringing it together into a homogeneous mass. The source gives up to 50 ml as a guide.
- Heat a black skillet, preferably cast iron, until hot. Place 1–2 tablespoons of the loose mixture in the center, depending on the pan size.
- With the back of a spoon, gently press and spread the mixture into a round. Cook for 2–3 minutes, moving the skillet so the cake heats evenly and the center does not burn.
- Use a lid to help turn the mbejú. Cook the second side in the same way. As the cheese heats, it binds the starch into a flexible cake.
- Serve hot.
Conditions
Yield5 medium mbeju
Places
Paraguay
Documented preparation · Country evidenceThe recipe identifies the preparation as Paraguayan; it gives no more precise locality.
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Sources
ABC Color; recipe by Carmen ChovoMethod · Ingredients · Yield · Paraguayan association · Texture
No hay quien se resista a este mbeju campaña calentito este fin de semanaThe recipe is identified as Paraguayan mbeju campaña and yields five medium cakes.
It uses 500 g cassava starch, 250 g queso Paraguay, 125 g fat, salt and up to 50 ml milk or water if needed.
Work the fat and cheese together, add the starch and rub with fingers to a nearly sandy base; only a little liquid is added, and the mixture should remain loose rather than become homogeneous.
Spoon 1–2 tablespoons into a hot black skillet, gently press and spread into a round, cook 2–3 minutes while moving the pan to prevent a hot center, then flip with a lid and finish the other side. The cheese and heat bind the crumbly mixture.
Cited in: Keep the starch loose
Centers for Disease Control and PreventionSafety
Raw MilkChoose pasteurized milk and dairy products to reduce the risk of illness from harmful germs.