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Chipa so'o
Cheese bread with spiced beef
Chipa so'o: Paraguay's Holy Week cheese chipa with a spiced beef filling
ParaguayanIn Paraguay, families bake chipa in the clay tatakua ovens on Holy Wednesday so there is food for Thursday and Good Friday, when cooking stops. Chipa so'o ('chipa with meat') is a cassava-starch and cheese bread wrapped around a little filling of minced beef cooked with onion and egg, then baked until crisp outside and chewy within. It is naturally gluten free. Chef's tip: knead the dough until it no longer cracks at the edges when pressed; dry dough splits around the filling.
- Total time
- 90 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 12
Ingredients
For the filling
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 onionfinely chopped
- 10 ½ oz minced beef
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 hard-boiled eggchopped
For the chipa dough
- 1 ⅛ lb cassava (tapioca) starch
- 2 ⅞ oz butter or lardsoft
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup milkabout
- 1 tsp aniseed
- 1 tsp salt
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Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Fry 1 onion in 1 tbsp oil for 5 minutes, add 10 ½ oz minced beef, ½ tsp ground cumin and ½ tsp salt and cook for 8–10 minutes, breaking it up, until browned and no pink remains (160°F). Stir in 1 hard-boiled egg and cool.
15 minStep 2: Beat 2 ⅞ oz butter or lard with 2 eggs, then add 1 ⅛ lb cassava (tapioca) starch, 9 oz hard grating cheese (Paraguay cheese or Parmesan) and fresh cheese, 1 tsp aniseed and 1 tsp salt. Knead in ½ cup milk a little at a time until the dough is smooth and soft and doesn't crack.
10 minStep 3: Heat the oven to 400°F (350°F fan). Take an egg-sized piece of dough, flatten it in your palm, put a tablespoon of filling in the middle and close the dough around it into a ball or crescent.
15 minStep 4: Set on a lined tray and bake for 20–25 minutes, until golden and crisp outside. A common mistake is overbaking: chipa should stay chewy inside.
22 minStep 5: Cool slightly before eating. They keep for 2 days; warm through before serving.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 300 kcal
- Protein
- 13 g
- Carbs
- 30 g
- Fat
- 14 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does chipa so'o take?
- About 90 minutes in total: 45 minutes to prepare and 45 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 12 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of ground cumin?
- Cumin seeds, toasted and ground.
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