Sopa paraguaya

Sopa paraguaya is a cornmeal cake. The onion is slowly cooked in fat until soft and mixed with cornmeal, Paraguayan fresh cheese, milk or buttermilk, eggs and salt. The batter is baked in a pan until golden on top and moist inside. It is cut into squares and served hot or at room temperature. It is the obligatory side dish for asado and the staple dish at weddings, birthdays and family gatherings; it is also eaten on its own as a snack, with mate cocido.

The name confuses outsiders: it is the only “soup” eaten with a fork, or with the hands. The most repeated explanation is a legend. The cook of Carlos Antonio López, president of the country in the 19th century, is said to have added too much cornmeal to the president’s white soup and, to avoid wasting the preparation, put the mixture in the oven; López is said to have approved the result and named it sopa paraguaya. There is no document that confirms the story.

In August 2017, the National Secretariat of Culture declared sopa paraguaya intangible cultural heritage of Paraguay by Resolution 592, together with vori vori, locro and jopara. According to the secretariat, the aim was to safeguard dishes considered part of the national identity. The declaration applies to the entire country: the sopa is prepared in all departments, in homes, canteens and bakeries.

The sopa has close relatives. Chipa guasu uses grated fresh corn instead of cornmeal and is moister; mbeju is a cassava-starch and cheese pancake. Paraguayan families took the recipe to neighboring regions where it is also prepared, and a 2017 municipal law in Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul, that declared it a local heritage provoked a reaction in Paraguay.