Mum’s Sopa Paraguaya

This is my mum’s recipe for Sopa Paraguaya, a traditional Paraguayan cornbread that I grew up eating. It’s savoury, cheesy and wonderfully comforting, and this is the version my mum makes at home.

There is one small problem with getting a recipe from my mum: she never measures anything! She just knows. So the quantities below are my best attempt at putting her instinctive cooking into actual measurements. Don't worry too much about getting everything exact, the consistency is what matters.

Ingredients

• 2 tins sweetcorn, drained

• 2 onions, finely chopped

• A little oil, for frying and greasing

• Salt, to taste

• 4 eggs

• Approximately 250–300ml milk

• 150–200g grated mature cheddar cheese, plus extra for the top

• Approximately 200–250g fine yellow cornmeal

  
  

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.

2. Prepare the sweetcorn. Drain the sweetcorn and blend until mostly smooth.

3. Cook the onions. Heat a little oil in a frying pan and gently fry the chopped onions with one teaspoon of salt until softened. Turn off the heat and leave the onions to cool.

4. Make the mixture. In a large bowl, add the blended sweetcorn, cooled onions and eggs. Add the milk and grated cheddar cheese and mix well.

5. Add the cornmeal. Gradually add the cornmeal, mixing as you go. You're looking for a thick, spoonable consistency — not too dry and not too runny. When you lift the spoon, the mixture should slowly fall from it.

6. Bake. Grease a baking dish with a little oil and pour in the mixture. Grate some extra cheese over the top.

7. Check the seasoning. Taste the mixture and add more salt if needed.

8. Bake until the top is beautifully golden and the centre is cooked through, approximately 35–45 minutes.

9. Leave to cool slightly before slicing and serving.

   
   

A little note from my mum

Don't worry too much about exact quantities for the milk and cornmeal. Trust your eye and aim for a thick, spoonable consistency. And make sure you add enough salt! (I always go light with the salt, one teaspoon feels like a lot but her feedback is always: 'it needs more salt'. 😂)