Chipa Paraguay

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 400 g cornstarch (cassava, yuca or tapioca starch)
• 100 g lard or clarified butter
• 2 m.-sized eggs
• 100 g ricotta
• 100 g Gouda, young
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp anise seeds, whole

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 15 minutes; Total time approx. 35 minutes

Cheese pastries, traditional

Mix the fat with the eggs and ricotta. Grate the Gouda and fold in. Add the anise, salt and starch and mix everything roughly with a dough hook. Now knead with your hands until the dough is smooth and no longer sticky. If the dough is too dry, add a little fat or 1 tablespoon of milk. Form the dough into rings, at least the thickness of your thumb, and arrange them on a baking sheet lined with baking paper, leaving some space between them. Now bake in a preheated oven at at least 240 degrees Celsius for about 13-15 minutes. They taste best lukewarm. I adapted the recipe so that the chipa taste like they do in Paraguay and the ingredients are available here. The starch is also available from Asian restaurants, the anise from Turkish restaurants. The lard is important for the flavor; oil is less suitable.