Day 108 - My Favorite Bolivian Foods

My Three Favorite Bolivian Foods

There are many great foods in Bolivia, and many great foods in the United States.  America makes the best hamburgers in the world, though there are a few places here that make a good burger.  Tex-Mex food is to die for and I am sorry to say, Bolivia lacks a great Mexican restaurant.  But there are some things Bolivia has that you can’t find in the States. 

First of all is sonso.  It is a simple dish cooked, pureed yucca with cheese blended in.  Yucca is also called manioc in English, though both are relatively unfamiliar in the States.  Here in the city, I most often find it baked in an aluminum tin, but in Cotoca, I had it wrapped on a stick and cooked over a grill.  I don’t care which way it is served; it is so incredible.  It makes me wonder why yucca has not become popular in the States. 

Around the corner from my house is Teconté, a small tea restaurant/bakery.  They make fabulous sonso, so at least once a week, I buy some.

Here is a recipe from boliviabella.com:

Ingredients

4 pounds of yucca (manioc) peeled, boiled and mashed
2 round white cheeses, crumbled (fresh mozzarella works well)
2 tablespoons of butter or lard, melted
1/4 to 1/2 cup of milk
2 eggs
Salt to taste

Instructions:

Peel the yucca, cut into medium-sized pieces, and boil in water with salt until they are soft. Remove from water and strain. Mash completely.

Add in the eggs and melted butter or lard and mix well. Add in 1/4 cup of milk and mix completely. What you want to obtain is a mash of yucca that can be handled and shaped with your hands - not too dry to crumble and not so wet that it won't hold its shape. If the mix is too dry, add more milk, one tablespoon at a time.

Add in the crumbled cheese. Mexican queso cacique works well (you'll have to grate it) but I found fresh mozzarella (the kind that comes in a jar with water) works better for this recipe. Mix vigorously with a wooden spoon or simply with your hands to incorporate the cheese completely into the mashed yucca.

TO BAKE IT

If you plan to make baked sonso, your mashed yucca can be a bit more wet if you like (however, don't make it runny). Grease a glass baking dish and spread the mashed yucca into the dish. Try to use a dish that isn't too shallow. You want your sonso to be rather deep and have the consistency of mashed potatoes. If it's too shallow, you may end up baking your sonso into a thin crisp. Bake at 350 Fahrenheit or about 180 Celsius uncovered until the cheese forms a nice toasty golden brown top. Serve hot.

TO GRILL IT

To grill your sonso on a stick, your mashed yucca should not be too wet. You need it to be pliable and smooth. Scoop some sonso with your hand and shape it around your stick. You can either grill it directly on the grill, or wrap it in tin foil initially, then after a few minutes you can take off the tin foil and grill it until the cheese toasts to a golden brown. Be sure to turn it around every once in a while, so it bakes on all sides.

My second is fried yucca.  One of the reasons I visit La Pascana once a week is to enjoy their fried yucca.  I even go there and get only yucca and a soda. 

It is simple to make.  Cut off the tough outer bark of the yucca, cut it into bite-sized pieces, and deep fry in oil much like you would potatoes.  Don’t cook it too long.  It should be tender on the inside and crispy on the outside. 

 My third is cuñapé.  In Brazil they are called pão de queijo, so it is not a Bolivian recipe, but a South American recipe.
Begin by preheating your oven to 305 degrees Fahrenheit

1 cup yucca (manioc) starch
(you can get this in Latin or Mexican stores)
1 Round (3 cups) of Mexican cheese like Queso Fresco
1 egg
SALT, Water, and milk, as needed and only if the dough is too dry.

Crumble the cheese into a big mixing bowl (it should crumble easily) and add the yucca starch and egg and a pinch of salt. Knead it with your hands until you have a dough-like consistency. At this point, if it's too dry, you can add some milk or water.

Make them into little balls and insert your thumb into the bottom to make a hole in the bottom (this helps for it to not stick to your pan). Place them on top of a nonstick pan or a floured pan. Let it sit for 15 minutes.

Place them in the oven between 15-20 minutes.

Do one batch first. If it comes out too cheesy, then add more starch.

All recipes came from Boliviabella.com