Characteristics and Variants
Also known as Paraguayan soup, it is a food that—surprise, surprise!—is described as a cake made with onion, corn flour, and cheese. It is not only traditional in Paraguay, but is also widely prepared in Argentina.
And of course, being very well-known, it has some variations, highlighting ingredients like pork fat, cream, milk, chicken, paprika, and garlic.
History of the Dish
It is known that the cuisine of Paraguay before the colonial era was very rich, and the tribes inhabiting the vast territories of what today are Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay managed to survive thanks to hunting animals, fishing, and cultivating crops which they guarded well.
However, to fully understand its history, we must go back in time and pause at the colonial era, because it was then that everything began, thanks to the arrival of the Spaniards to the American continent—and the cargo they brought with them, which included cheese, milk, beef, and eggs.
It should be clarified that, while it’s true that these tribes already had a solid base of quite impressive foods, the gastronomic elements brought by the colonizers certainly gave them a little boost.
Thus, one fine day, a native might have decided to mix eggs, cheese, and pork fat with local ingredients; thus creating the first version of Guarani soup, which over time evolved but remained a typical dish of Paraguay—a title it continues to hold to this day.
