Sopa Paraguaya~ Paraguayan Cornbread

Cornbread may be a misleading name for this recipe.  What comes to my mind when I hear 'cornbread' is a very crumbly, often dry texture of food. The corn is simply a backup singer for the cheese and onions in the recipe.  Around our house we do not call this Paraguayan Cornbread; we call it Aunt Claudia's cheesy~onion~casserole.

My sister~in~law, Claudia, has an interesting heritage.  She is American by birth but her parents are from Argentina, and she was often cared for by a family friend {much like a nanny} who is from Paraguay.  So the food she makes has many influences and is always a hit with us.  Perhaps my favorite is this cheesy dish.

I really, really, really, like cheese and onions.  I will warn you, that if are not too fond of either, this is not the dish for you. It is loaded with two pounds of cheese and four onions.  If you do like cheese and onions, this may be the side dish of your dreams.  It makes an excellent side for roasted chicken {just put some chicken pieces in a baking dish and season with Adobe then roast}.

Paraguayan Cornbread
4 medium sweet onions, sliced
3 tbsp olive oil
1 c fine white corn meal
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c unsalted butter, softened
1 15 oz can corn
1 c whole milk
3 eggs
1/2 lb Muenster cheese
1 lb Monterrey ~Jack cheese

Preheat oven to 350F.
Saute onions in olive oil until tender and slightly browned.  While onions are cooking, cube cheeses.  Combine baking powder, corn meal and salt.  Place softened butter, creamed corn and corn meal mixture in bowl; combine well.  Slowly add milk and eggs and mix well.

Add cooked onions to corn mixture and then add cheese.  Spoon into a greased 9x13" casserole dish.  Bake in preheated oven for 35~45 minutes, until golden on top.  Let cool for 10~15 minutes before serving {it needs to set or it will be to soft to hold any shape}.

Tips and Tricks~
*The cornbread should be served warm, not hot.  If you cut into while it's hot, you'll need a spoon to eat it with and the rest of the casserole will ooze in and take over the empty space from the missing piece.
*If you buy white corn meal in the regular grocery {instead of an international market} you may only find self~rising corn meal.  If so, you can use it; just skip the baking powder and salt in this recipe.
*The casserole is even tastier after it has been refrigerated for a day and reheated.  I don't really know why, but it is.  It can be reheated in the oven {covered}.


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