If you’ve ever been on a Mente Argentina picnic, you are definitely familiar with these delicious cheesy balls (or rings). This is a snack that Porteños have adopted from their friends to the North, form Paraguay and Northeastern Argentina. Chipá is yerba mate’s best friend, which makes it the perfect snack or even breakfast savory treat. This recipe is even gluten-free so our celiac amigues can enjoy them too!
This is a basic chipá recipe based on a recipe adapted from Paulina Cocina. We at Mente Argentina like to spice things up with herbs and spices like some black pepper, paprika, rosemary or even cayenne pepper so feel free to play around with the recipe. Traditionally chipá is made int he form of little balls or rings but you could make larger rolls and even use them to make sandwiches!
We hope that you enjoy this recipe while you are in Argentina or in your home country taking Online Spanish Classes or working at your Online Internship. Tell us how it went once you make them and share your pictures tagging @menteargentina on instagram!
Ingredients:
Tapioca Starch / Cassava Flour – 3 cups (500g) – If you can’t find tapioca starch, you can also use corn starch.
Cheese – 4 cups (400g) – This should be a combination of hard and semi-hard cheeses. In Argentina the most common to use are Pategrás and Sardo or Parmesan. You can use shredded or cubed cheese, we recommend shredded.
Butter – 1/2 cup (120 g) – room temperature – This can also be replaced with an oil of your choice.
3 Eggs
Milk – 1/2 cup (100ml) – You could also use water.
Baking Powder – 1 teaspoon
Salt – to taste
Instructions
- Preheat your oven at 350°F (180C).
- Put the shredded and/or cubed cheese in a bowl. Add the tapioca starch to the cheese. Then add the room temperature butter and combine the ingredients.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients (eggs, milk, baking powder and salt to taste).
- Make a pit in the cheese mixture and fill with the egg and milk mixture. Combine the two mixtures. Use your hands to make sure that they are well-combined.
- Cover the bowl with plastic and refrigerate for 30-45 minutes.
- Remove the bowl and roll the dough into 1 inch (2.5 cm) wide balls.
- Place the dough balls on a baking sheet and bake at 350°F (180C) for about 10 minutes.
Go Crazy!
By: Samantha Tigner
