Mbejú

Mbejú is a buttery, gluten-free, cheese flatbread with crispy edges that is enjoyed all over Paraguay with a cup of coffee or cocido. These flatbreads are best if enjoyed while still hot.

Traditional mbejú require starch, corn flour, pork fat, thin salt, fresh cheese and milk. The variety called "mbejú avevo" ("inflated cake") uses the same ingredients but with the pork fat, the eggs and the cheese in larger quantities. Another variant, "mbejú de fariña" in which manioc flour is used instead of manioc starch.

The name "mbejú" (also written "mbeyú") means "cake" and comes from the Guarani language. The mbejú is bound to the Guarani mythology to be one of the most ancient recipes of this culture.

There were about 16 ways to prepare it, although nowadays, 11 are recognized. Next to the chipá and the sopa paraguaya it is part of the so-called "tyra", a Guarani term for food consumed to accompany the "cocido paraguayo", milk or coffee, or simply an addition to other dishes.