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Sekai Gohan

Mbeju: Paraguayan Cheese and Cassava Starch Flatbread

Servings 4 servingsPrep 15 minCook 18 minTotal 33 min

Paraguayan mbeju, a browned flatbread of cassava starch and cheese
Steps with photos

Ingredients

Ingredient Amount Substitutes & notes
Tapioca starch or cassava starch 9 oz (250 g) Potato starch alone gives a heavy texture. Tapioca starch is recommended the first time
Mozzarella cheese 5.5 oz (160 g) Pizza cheese works too. For fresh, wet mozzarella, pat away the moisture
Feta or grated hard cheese 1.5 oz (40 g) Adds the saltiness of queso Paraguay
Unsalted butter 2 oz (60 g) With salted butter, cut the salt to 1/4 tsp
Milk ¼ cup (80 ml) Start with ¼ cup (60 ml) and add 1.5 tbsp (20 ml) if needed
Salt 1/2 tsp The saltiness of the cheese lets you go down to 1/3 tsp
Black pepper 1/4 tsp Optional, but it tightens up the richness of the cheese

Steps

  1. 1Rub the butter into the starch

    5 min

    Cut 2 oz (60 g) cold butter into 0.5-inch (1 cm) cubes and add them to 9 oz (250 g) tapioca starch and 1/2 tsp salt. Rub in with your fingertips or a wooden spatula for about 5 minutes, until the white starch turns slightly damp and becomes fine crumbs. If large lumps of butter remain, they leave pools of oil when cooked.

  2. 2Mix in the cheese and milk

    2 min

    Add 5.5 oz (160 g) mozzarella, 1.5 oz (40 g) feta or grated hard cheese and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Add only ¼ cup (60 ml) of the milk first and turn from the bottom for about 2 minutes. The target is a mix that "clumps when squeezed and crumbles when lightly pressed." It should not turn sticky. If the starch stays dry and white, add 2 tsp milk at a time.

  3. 3Spread it in the skillet

    2 min

    Warm a heavy 10-inch (26 cm) skillet over medium-low heat for 2 minutes. Use no oil. Put in about 5 oz (140 g) of dough for one piece and spread it to 6.5 inches (16 cm) across and about 0.375 inch (8 mm) thick. Press the surface lightly with a spatula and push the powder at the outside inward. Do not brown it at this stage; move on once the thickness is even and the powder at the edge has settled inward. Pressing too hard packs the center and makes it heavy.

  4. 4Cook the first side slowly

    4–5 min

    Keep the heat at medium-low and cook for 4–5 minutes. When the edge changes from whitish powder to translucent, the bottom gives off the smell of toasted cheese and the whole disk lifts when you slide in the spatula, it is ready to flip. Even if the top still looks powdery, do not touch it until the bottom has set.

  5. 5Cook the second side

    3–4 min

    Slide a large spatula all the way under and flip in one move. Cook 3–4 minutes over medium-low heat, and turn off the heat when both sides have golden spots and the center springs back when lightly pressed. If it threatens to burn, drop to low heat and add 1 minute.

  6. 6Rest and cut

    2 min

    Move the cooked mbeju to a cutting board and rest it for 2 minutes. If you cut right away, the cheese runs and the cut face collapses. While still warm, cut into 4 wedges and brush about 5 g butter thinly over the surface to bring back the aroma. Cook the remaining dough the same way, keeping the skillet at medium-low: 4–5 minutes on the first side and 3–4 minutes after flipping, until both sides are golden.