November 2015 – Andrea Casals

Hi folks, I decided to start this new week sharing a new South American recipe on the blog: Mbeju.

Let’s say that it’s great for breakfast, dinner or as a snack. You’ll feel satisfied and won’t get hungry for several hours after eating this cheesy, gluten-free tortilla-like.

Actually it’s a recipe from Paraguay, but you guys now that I was born in Misiones, just a river separates us from our brothers in Paraguay. In both sides, we grow tapioca (mandioca) and its flour it’s a fundamental ingredient in the diet of these regions… or was 😛

More about this food here.

For one mbejú, you’ll need (did I mention that it’s actually shareable?)

1 cup tapioca flour (available in Whole Foods, Latin Grocery Markets and guess what? Some Asian markets also carry tapioca starch or flour and it’s super cheap, something like $0.79 per pound).
1/2 cup gouda cheese (curds or grated)
1/8 cup organic milk
1/8 cup water (room temperature)
2 tbsp melted butter
1/4 tsp salt

*****If you have a food processor: Put all ingredients in the food processor until it looks like coarse sand (about 1 minute or less). Then follow same steps to cook it.

For the manual process: Begin by combining the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the melted butter.

When it has a crumble consistency, add the milk, cheese and then the water. Use your hands to integrate them after each addition.

It will have this crumble look. Don’t worry, it’s going to become something in a few minutes.

COOKING IT:

Add a little butter to a large pan and set it to medium heat.

Add the mixture to the pan and set it to a lower heat.

Use a spoon to give a more flatten look to this crumble mixture.

When the cheese starts melting it might be the moment to turn it over. You’ll see that’s it’s easy to unstick it from the pan using a spatula when it’s done.