Uruguay - Munchies

What I hadn’t known until I got there was in Uruguay, the use of cannabis is legal. Each Uruguayan citizen is permitted to grow 6 of their own plants at home for their own use. Legally. And each licensed individual can grow 99 flowering plants, and sell 40 grams of marijuana to 45 customers through a dispensary, growing club or cafe. Pause to take in that information. SO, with all the cannabis being distributed you just know Uruguay has damn good food to feed those munchies. Heres a list of some of the amazing food I got to eat.

Mains

Chivito

We start with a good old sandwich. A chivito is a sort of national dish. Inside its luscious buns it contains; lettuce, tomato, a meat/steak, a thick layer of cheese, mayo, olives, a fried egg, and you can top it off with some ham or bacon. This is a monster of a sandwich so make sure you know you're hungry before you attempt it or prepare for the shame and disappointment in the waitress' eyes as she takes your sad left overs back to the kitchen.

Asado

We had as many asados as we could during our stay. An asado is a method of barbecue that you’ll cook your various meats on and you'll find this method almost everywhere you go in Uruguay. The wood is burnt on the side and the hot coals that fall from the burning fire are moved under the meat to cook it. You can raise or lower the grill depending on what meats you're cooking and how long they take to cook. At the place we stayed, we were lucky enough to use both the asado and the built in pizza oven next to it!

Choripán (sausage sandwich)

Another fantastic sandwich. We found these at stalls on the side of the road, the most common customers looked like workers on their break and boy had they found a good spot. The buns on these sandwiches were lightly toasted, over an asado, and used homemade chorizo as their meat, a mixture of beef or pork sausages. The sauce thats used on top is called 'chimichurri' (its just fun to say!) and that is a mixture of tomatoes, onions, herbs, garlic and chilli.

Desserts

The desserts in Uruguay were really to die for. I thought I had a sweet tooth but I was absolutely put to shame by the treats I got here!

Dulce de leche

The most important introduction of my life to was to this masterpiece. A cousin to caramel, dulce de leche is made by slowly heating sweetened milk until it becomes a thick, brown mixture resembling caramel. This sugaring greatness is found in or on almost every kind of dessert. It will be stuffed into churros, stuffed into and on top of croissants, used on cakes, cookies, ice-cream, bread, you name it. A true treasure.

Torta Fritas

Last but most definitely not least on my list is the torta fritas. At first glance they look a bit like roti, but they are far from the savoury bread you expect. Torta fritas are cooked by mixing together flour, salt, butter, lard/fat, milk, and sugar, then frying this mixture in more lard/fat until you get your bread-like texture. They are light as air and addictive as hell. Most definitely watch out for the attack of these bad boys on your diet!