As you know, my family hails from Paraguay, the "heart" of South America, which is known for its incredible history, rich heritage, and the happiest people on Earth (according to multiple polls - look it up, it's true). It's also the country upon which the 1986 movie "The Mission" is based, starring Robert De Niro, Jeremy Irons and an all-around all-star cast. Watch it sometime - it's amazing.
In Paraguay, the food influence includes the native Guarani, Spanish, English, Italian and German, among other things. And besides from a lot of beef , Paraguay features yucca (cassava) and corn in many of its dishes. Chipa (pronounced "cheep-ah") is one of Paraguay's most recognized foods, a small yucca or corn (or both) and cheese roll that is usually served with breakfast. But there are actually over 70 different kids of Chipa in Paraguay, each one made and served in its own style.
Chipa Guazu is one of my favorites, and is commonly served as a side dish, especially at Asados (our version of barbecue). "Guazu" means "big" in Guarani, so, as you can imagine, it's more of a platter/casserole style dish than a bread roll.
My mom used to make this all the time, a little slice of back home up here in Michigan. Since ingredients vary from continent to continent, we had to make do with an American version of Chipa Guazu. And each person makes it a little differently, but here's my recipe. I invite you to try it next time you grill steaks, roast a tenderloin, or even with a rotisserie chicken. It's easy to make, and takes under an hour.
Chipa Guazu - Michigan Style
Ingredients:
6 cups of frozen corn, thawed
3 whole eggs
1/2 cup of milk
1/2 of a medium onion, diced
2 cups of small curd cottage cheese
2 cups of finely shredded 4-cheese Mexican cheese blend
3 tbsp. of flour
1 tsp Salt and 1/2 tsp Pepper
1/2 tbsp of butter
9x13 greased baking dish
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.
In a large colander, press down on the thawed corn to squeeze out as much juice as you can
In a food processor, mix 3 cups of corn with the 3 eggs and blend to a lumpy cream. Transfer to baking dish.
In the same food processor, mix remaining 3 cups of corn with 1/2 cup of milk and blend to a lumpy cream. You should still see some whole kernels. Transfer to baking dish.
Sauté diced onion with butter until onions begin to soften. Transfer to baking dish.
Add cottage cheese, Mexican cheese, flour, and salt and pepper to baking dish, and mix all ingredients together.
Level the mixture so that it is flat across the top.
Bake in oven for approximately 1 hour. The top should be golden brown, and shouldn't jiggle too much if you shake the dish.
Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before serving.
Enjoy!