“Batiburrillo”, the typical Paraguayan dish invented by a Basque

Batiburrillo is a type of beef stew that was introduced by Sebastián Sasiain Zubillaga, a Basque emigrant who settled in Paraguay in 1926 along with his wife, Brígida Zubia Erostarbe.  Upon his arrival to the department of Misiones, this Salinas de Léniz-born Basque created this stew, which has become a staple of the cuisine of Misiones.  In his honor, the city of San Juan Bautista celebrates a culinary festival every year, where this dish is the star.

This year, it was held on Saturday, January 25.

Sebastián Sasiain not only created this recipe, he also designed the perfect drink to accompany it, siriki, a soft drink made of white cane sugar, soda water, ice, and lemon whose name comes from the Guaraní word syryku, which means ‘sip’ or ‘swallow’.

We found all this great info from an EFE article on the website of the Paraguayan daily Hoy, and in several other Paraguayan media.  While we were looking for more information about the history of this dish, we came across a video of the festival, also published by EFE, which tells the history and features of this dish, and in which you can also see an abundance of ikurriñas and txapelas.  We’ll also link to the article and video in the Paraguayan daily ABC.

As a final note, we’d like to remind you that the name of this Department comes from the Jesuit missions to the Guaranís, which we’ve blogged about before.

Hoy – 26/1/2020 – Paraguay

Batiburrillo, el icono culinario de Paraguay que implantó un emigrante vasco

Una cita que se celebra desde hace 19 años en la plaza principal de la localidad, capital del Departamento de Misiones, para degustar ese guiso que en 1926 comenzó a elaborar en la zona Sebastián Sasiain Zubillaga, que emigró desde Salinas de Léniz, en el País Vasco (España), para labrarse un futuro en Paraguay.

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EFE – 25/1/2019 – Paraguay

Batiburrillo, el icono culinario de Paraguay que implantó un emigrante vasco

(With video)

El aroma y el sabor del batiburrillo, un peculiar guiso de menudencias de vacuno, impregnó este sábado la ciudad paraguaya de San Juan Bautista, que tiene su icono culinario en ese plato, introducido por un emigrante vasco cuya huella perdura en una multitudinaria y anual fiesta gastronómica.

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ABC – 6/7/2012 – Paraguay

Presentan la historia del batiburrillo

Los descendientes de don Sebastián Sasiaín y Zubillaga presentarán el batiburrillo en las dos versiones: el menú típico de la región vasca de España, traído por Sasiaín en base a menudencias de oveja y cerdo; y la versión sanjuanina, en base a las churas del vacuno.

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Last Updated on Dec 20, 2020 by About Basque Country