AI-generated image
Chivito
Montevideo's loaded steak sandwich with ham, cheese, egg and olives
The chivito was created in the 1940s at a restaurant in Punta del Este, Uruguay, and became the national sandwich: a soft roll filled with thin, tender steak, ham, melted mozzarella, a fried egg, bacon, lettuce, tomato, olives and mayonnaise. It is eaten in Montevideo's parrillas and corner bars with chips on the side. This sandwich contains pork. The mistake is a thick, chewy steak: use thinly sliced sirloin and sear it fast. Chef's tip: toast the cut sides of the rolls so they stand up to all the juices.
- Total time
- 30 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
Method
0/5 doneStep 1: Season 1 ⅛ lb beef sirloin with 1 tsp salt and ½ tsp black pepper. Fry 8 rashers back bacon in a large pan for 4–5 minutes until crisp. Set aside.
5 minStep 2: Add 2 tbsp vegetable oil to the pan over a high heat and sear the steaks for 1 minute a side. Top each with 4 slices cooked ham and 4 slices mozzarella, cover and cook 1 minute more until the cheese melts. Thin steak this way reaches about 145°F; cook it until no pink remains (160°F) for young children or pregnant guests.
3 minStep 3: Fry 4 eggs until the whites are set; cook the yolks firm for vulnerable guests.
4 minStep 4: Toast the cut sides of 4 large soft rolls. Spread with 4 tbsp mayonnaise, add 4 lettuce leaves and 2 tomatoes, then the steak with ham and cheese, the bacon, an egg and 12 green olives.
2 minStep 5: Close and serve at once with chips.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 830 kcal
- Protein
- 52 g
- Carbs
- 42 g
- Fat
- 48 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does chivito take?
- About 30 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of slices mozzarella?
- Provolone or a mild cheddar, same amount.
- What can I use instead of eggs?
- 1 tbsp ground flaxseed + 3 tbsp water per egg, left for 5 minutes (baking only; vegan).
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Doubles
Doubles are Trinidad's favourite street food, sold from carts at dawn on corners from Curepe to San Fernando and said to have started in Princes Town in the 1930s. Two pieces of bara, a soft, puffy fried flatbread coloured with turmeric, are piled with soft curried chickpeas (channa), then spooned with sweet tamarind sauce, cool cucumber chutney, shado beni sauce and as much pepper sauce as you dare ('slight' or 'heavy'). They're messy, cheap and wonderful, eaten standing up from a square of paper. These are different from Indian chole bhature: the bara is light and yeasty, the channa is cooked very soft in Caribbean curry, and the toppings are sweet, sour and fiery all at once. Chef's tip: keep the bara dough very soft and wet, and handle it only with oiled hands. Stretch each ball thin over your fingers and slide it straight into the hot oil, so it puffs light and stays soft instead of turning into a crisp puri.
Lemongrass tofu banh mi
Bánh mì is Saigon's favourite street food: an airy, thin-crusted baguette split and stuffed with pickled carrot and daikon (đồ chua), cucumber, coriander and chilli. At vegetarian stalls near the city's pagodas the meat is swapped for sticky, caramelised lemongrass tofu, as in this version. Eat it for breakfast or lunch, warm, with a glass of iced coffee. Chef's tip: warm the baguette in a hot oven until the crust crackles when you squeeze it, and pull out a little of the soft crumb, so every bite is crisp shell, juicy filling and herbs in balance.
Thai bean burger
A Thai-flavoured veggie burger: butter beans are blended with fresh coconut, spring onions, coriander, roasted peanuts and red curry paste into coarse patties, shallow-fried until crisp and stacked in toasted buns with lettuce, onion and a little sweet chilli sauce. Filling, crunchy and full of flavour. Serve with a salad or chips.