Jopara — Paraguay

Jopara is a mixed corn and bean stew reported from Paraguay, its name coming from the Guaraní word for mixture. Dried white corn and beans are boiled until tender, then combined with browned beef, squash and a base of onion, garlic and tomato, giving a thick, hearty one-pot dish. The dish is closely tied to Paraguay's Guaraní and Spanish-influenced food culture, where it sits alongside other corn-based preparations such as locro. It is widely eaten as an everyday meal, especially in cooler months, and is often associated with home cooking rather than restaurant menus, passed on within families. To prepare it, the dried corn and beans are soaked separately overnight and then simmered in plenty of water, the corn going in first since it takes longer to soften. While they cook, beef is browned with onion and garlic, then tomato and a little paprika are added to build a base, which is stirred into the pot along with diced squash. Everything is simmered together until the corn is tender, the beans hold their shape, and the squash has softened into the broth. What distinguishes jopara from a plain corn stew or a plain bean stew is exactly the mixing its name describes: two starches, corn and beans, are cooked together rather than served apart, and the beef and squash are added to round out the dish rather than to dominate it. The proportion of corn to beans, and how much meat and squash are included, shift with what a household has on hand, but the combined, layered pot remains the recognizable form of the dish.