Paraguay's Home Cooking

Paraguay's Home Cooking

A staple of Paraguayan dining is parrillada -- barbecued meats served in large portions at restaurants called parrillas. Beef, including blood sausage and organ meats, is the mainstay, but pork and chicken are also common. Puchero is a meat, sausage, vegetable, and chickpea stew that's eaten in the cooler months. Bori-bori is a hearty soup with bits of meat, vegetables, and balls molded from cheese and corn. Paraguay's rivers abound with unusual fish, such as the surubí, a giant catfish. It's tastiest when served in a dish called milanesa de surubí (battered and deep-fried fillets). Another tasty option is the dorado, a ferocious predator resembling the salmon. Try it lightly grilled. A soup made from the fish's head and other leftovers is surprisingly delicious.

Usual accompaniments include salads (Paraguay's tomatoes are incredibly flavorful) and palmitos (hearts of palm), considered a delicacy. Other side dishes include sopa paraguaya, a kind of corn bread made with cheese, eggs, and onions, or chipá-guazú, a similar dish in which roughly ground corn is substituted for cornmeal. You also may be served boiled manioc, a white, fibrous root with a bland flavor. Chipá, a type of bread made from corn flour, ground manioc, and sometimes cheese, is baked in a clay oven called a tatakua. It is sold everywhere and is best eaten piping hot. Typical desserts include dulce de leche, a pudding made from slow-cooking milk and sugar; papaya preserved in syrup; and such fresh fruits as pineapple, banana, mango, and melon.

Cafés and bars usually sell snacks, mostly fried or grilled foods that can be prepared quickly. The most popular is milanesa, thin slices of batter-fried beef, chicken breast, pork, or fish. Other favorites are empanadas, envelopes of pastry filled with beef, pork, chicken, corn, or cheese; croquetas, sausage-shape minced meat or poultry that is rolled in bread crumbs and deep fried; and mixtos, ham-and-cheese sandwiches. Many cafés have a special of the day -- plato del día -- that's usually a good bargain. Paraguayan portions tend to be generous, so don't hesitate to share a dish.

Few Paraguayans are seen without their guampa, a drinking vessel made of a cow's horn, metal, or wood, from which they sip tereré, a cold infusion made from yerba maté tea. Maté is drunk hot throughout South America, but the cold version, often mixed with medicinal herbs, is more common in Paraguay. Pilsners, particularly the Baviera brand, are quite good. If you order beer in a restaurant, an enormous bottle is likely to be brought to your table in an ice bucket. Beer on tap is known as chopp (pronounced "shop"). Choose beer over the local wine whenever possible. In Asunción, society women fill the top hotels' tables for afternoon tea, and baby showers and parties for brides-to-be often take the form of teas. Espresso and often filtered coffee is served demitasse except at breakfast.

Asunción and the other larger cities have plenty of excellent restaurants, bars, and cafés, but in smaller towns the choices are few. If you're traveling along the highways you can expect to find a few good roadside restaurants serving grilled meat and fish.

Since restaurants sometimes close between meals, it's important to plan when to eat. Lunch can begin at 11:30, but 12:30 is more typical. Some restaurants stop serving lunch as early as 2. Dinner is often available at 7 PM, with restaurants staying open until 11. More sophisticated dining spots open at 8 PM and serve until shortly after midnight. On weekends and special occasions, dining hours are extended. Café hours are generally 7 AM-10 PM.