Payaguá Mascada — Print Recipe

Crispy fried patties of mashed cassava filled with seasoned ground beef, onion, and spices — a popular Paraguayan street food with Guarani roots.

Ingredients

1kg cassava (mandioca), peeled
300g ground beef
1 onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 bunch parsley, chopped
1 tsp cumin
Salt and pepper
Oil for frying

Instructions

1 Boil cassava until very tender, about 25 min. Drain and mash until smooth, removing any fibrous core.
2 Sauté onion, garlic, and bell pepper. Add ground beef, cumin, salt, pepper. Cook until beef is done. Add parsley. Let cool.
3 Take a portion of mashed cassava, flatten in your palm, place a spoonful of meat filling in the center.
4 Fold cassava around the filling and shape into a flat oval patty.
5 Fry in hot oil until golden and crispy on both sides, about 3-4 min per side.
6 Drain on paper towels. Serve hot.

Did You Know?

These patties are named after the Payaguá people, a warrior river nation who once dominated the Paraguay River and were legendary for their fierce independence.