COUNTRY:                           PARAGUAY

DISH:                                     SOPA PARAGUAYA

CONTRIBUTED BY: Embassy, Mission in Pretoria

 

Historians say that Don Carlos Antonio López, president of Paraguay between 1841 and 1862, liked tykuetï or white soup made with milk, cheese, eggs and corn flour, a dish that was daily unavoidable at his table.

One day, due to the carelessness of the machú or cook, he put more corn flour in the soup than usual, which led to two problems: the first, the tykuetï was no longer liquid, but pasty; and the second, the time was short enough to restart his task or substitute another favorite dish.

Then, between fear and ingenuity, he decided to put the preparation in an iron container and cooked it in the tatakua or “fire hole”, with which he obtained a solid soup. When it was time to serve the President, the cook, very fearful, explained what had happened and introduced him to the source.

When tasting it, Don Carlos found it so tasty that, immediately, he named it “Paraguayan soup”. A variant of this version relates that, that day, Don Carlos had invited ambassadors from other countries to dinner and as the story happened, he then presented the dish as “Paraguayan soup”.

Another version that alludes to the origin of the Paraguayan soup indicates that, when the Spaniards arrived in Guaraní lands, the natives received them with honor and offered their best food to entertain them: game meat. After finishing the meat supply, and verifying that the guests were still hungry, the Guarani served them the food they usually ate, made with corn or cassava flour wrapped in banana leaves, cooked in hot ash and saying “the meat is It ended “, in their Guaraní language:” So’o opa “, hence its name” sopa “.

 

Ingredients (Serves 12)

3 large onions

3 cups of water

1 tablespoon of coarse salt

3/4 cup pork fat (cold)

4 eggs

350 grs. fresh cheese

650 grs. corn flour

1 cup of curdled or natural milk

1 heaped tablespoon of cream (optional)

 

Method

  1. Finely chop the onion. Boil it with the water and salt for 10 minutes, in a covered saucepan. Let cool.
  2. Beat the fat.
  3. Add the eggs one by one, maintaining the smoothness.
  4. Add the crumbled cheese.
  5. Incorporate the onion with the water in which the corn flour was boiled and add little by little, alternating with the milk and cream.
  6. Mix gently and put in a large greased and floured roasting pan.
  7. Cook in a hot oven hot (200 °) for approximately 1 hour.