Paraguayan Corn & Cheese Soufflé (Chipa Guazú)
Every family has its own recipe for chipa guazú - which usually lives in the matriarch’s head. I tweaked this recipe from a family version I found online. Traditionally, chipa guazú is made with lard, but I’ve used corn oil to lighten it up a bit. Feel free to use different types of cheese and baking dishes, as some people prefer a dense, almost mushy consistency, while others like a thinner casserole with a crusty, browned top.
Ingredients
- 1 large white yellow onion finely diced
- 8 ears corn kernels removed (scrape each cob over bowl of kernels when finished to extract all “milk”)
- 1 cup corn flour available at specialty food stores or cornmeal
- 1 to 2 cups grated melting cheese such as Havarti or Jack
- 1/3 to ½ cup corn oil plus extra for greasing baking dish
- ½ to 1 cup water
- Pinch Kosher salt
- 6 large eggs beaten
- 1 cup milk half-and-half, or cream
Instructions
- Heat oven to 400°F degrees. Coat 9-by-13-inch baking dish with just enough oil to form a thin film.
- In a medium sauté pan over medium-low heat, sweat onions until translucent. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine corn, onions, corn flour, cheese, corn oil, water, salt, eggs, and milk. Mix well using a wooden spoon. Alternatively, mix in a stand mixer. The batter should have an oatmeal-like consistency; if it’s too runny, add a bit more corn flour.
- Pour batter into prepared dish and bake about 40 minutes to 1 hour, until top and sides are golden brown and center is set (it shouldn’t jiggle when you shake the dish). The final dish should have a soufflé-like texture, rather than be cakey (a toothpick inserted into the middle won’t come out clean). Serve hot or at room temperature.
Notes
Adapted from Recipe adapted from reciplex.com