We’ve talked about the meat, which is a very important part of every Asado (obviously). But it’s not the only important part. You see, Asado, more than being a simple BBQ, is a whole ceremony.
It’s a meal you have with your friends or family, and, as it takes its time, it gives you an opportunity to talk and get together.
It’s all nice and pretty, but who wants to talk when you are starving and waiting for the meat to be cooked? That’s why we invented the “Picada” (small-bites meal).
Just like when writing software in a team; you want to get to the meat (the writing-code-uninterrupted-time, when you’re in your zone), but there is stuff to do before that. One of the things to do is to sit down and POC some parts (post about this later!).
The Picada is much like that, it can be anything you want ranging from Cheetos to Salami. It’s the Tapas of Asado.
Today I wanna give you a simple recipe for “Chipa”.
Chipa is a kind of cheese bread, originally from Paraguay, and it’s delicious.
The recipe I use is from this video and it’s too good and too simple not to make it.
Bonus: it’s gluten free!
Chipa
Equipment
- Oven
Ingredients
- 500 gr Tapioca Flour You’ll probably find this in some nature stores
- 250 gr Cheddar Cheese Grated
- 150 gr Parmesan Cheese Grated
- 100 ml Milk
- 10 gr Baking Powder
- 3 units Eggs
- 150 gr Butter In room temperature
- 1 tbsp Salt
Instructions
- Prepare all your ingredients
- Mix the flour with the cheeses and the salt in a large container
- In a separate bowl, mix the milk, eggs and baking powder.
- Cut the butter into small cubes and add it to the flour mix.
- Mix everything together until its almost unified.
- Make a hole in the center of the flour mix and add the milk mix into it.
- With your hands, mix the whole thing until you get a solid mixture. You should see chunks of cheese in the mixture.
- Wrap it in plastic wrap and let it rest in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Take it from the refrigerator and make small balls out of the mixture, the size of a two-bites ball (a bit smaller than a ping-pong ball).
- You can keep some of the balls in the freezer for 1-2 months and they’ll taste as if you just made them.The ones you do want to cook now will go to the freezer for about 5 minutes, this way they’ll get a crunchy taste.
- In the meanwhile start your oven at 250 degrees. Use some baking paper so the balls don’t stick and put them into the oven.
- After 10-15 minutes they should look like in the picture.Eat while it’s hot!
Comments: 2
The asado and the picada are inseparable. It’s like washing your teeth without toothpaste, it can be done but you know something is missing.
Couldn’t have said that better.