Another year, another Semana Santa, another chance to spend a day up to your elbows in “kure ñandy”(pig fat). Here’s what my “miércoles Santo” looked like. Share photos and memories of your chipa-making extravaganza here or on the Discovering Paraguay facebook page!
Chipa ingredients: eggs, milk, Paraguayan cheese, corn flour, mandioca starch, pig fat and anis. / Los ingredientes para la chipa: huevos, queso Paraguay, harina de maíz, almidón de mandioca, grasa de chancho y anís.
I have always maintained that Semana Santa is very similar to Thanksgiving in the US, what with the emphasis on family and food (and the fact that everything shuts down). Well, this year I found a new parallel. Making chipa is much like making a pumpkin pie from a fresh pumpkin – sounds amazing in theory. In practice, well, often it is better to just go with the canned stuff, or in this case, the local “chipera.” That is if all you care about is the final result. But if you care about the process – hanging out with family and friends, talking, drinking terere, making fun of eachother’s chipa decoration skills – in that case, make the chipa! Just be sure to have a lot of detergent on hand to wash awaythe pig fat afterwards!
