A jesuita
Uruguay
Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...
or fosforito (Argentina, lit. "matchstick") is a baked sandwich commonly eaten in parts of South America and considered a classic of
Argentinian cuisine
Argentine cuisine is described as a blending of cultures, from the Indigenous peoples of Argentina who focused on ingredients such as humita, potatoes, cassava, peppers, tomatoes, beans, and yerba mate, to Mediterranean influences brought b ...
.
It consists of two pieces of puff pastry filled with thin slices of ham and cheese.
Origins
The origins of the dish are European, brought to Argentina and Uruguay by colonizers.
Although long commonly available in Argentinian bakeries, their popularity had waned until an interest in home baking and professional interest among pastry chefs in traditional dishes resurged in 2020.
Ingredients and preparation
The puff pastry is typically lightly glazed with a sugary egg-white mixture similar to
royal icing
Royal icing is a hard white icing, made from softly beaten egg whites, icing sugar (powdered sugar), and sometimes lemon or lime juice. It is used to decorate Christmas cakes, wedding cakes, gingerbread houses, cookies, and many other cakes and ...
.
Some recipes call for the sandwiches to be assembled with the pastry raw, brushed with the glaze, and baked until the puff pastry is browned and crispy and the cheese has melted.
Others call for baking the pastry separately and filling the baked sheets with ham and cheese.
Serving
They are small in size and often served as a party food; they also can be served as an
appetizer
An hors d'oeuvre ( ; ), appetiser, appetizer or starter is a small dish served before a meal in European cuisine. Some hors d'oeuvres are served cold, others hot. Hors d'oeuvres may be served at the dinner table as a part of the meal, or th ...
, snack, or meal.
They can be served hot or cold.
The flavor is both sweet and salty.
Similarly-named dishes
A similarly-named sweet pastry known in Portugal, Spain and parts of South America, the , consists of puff pastry filled with custard.
In Germany, Jesuitermützen are a custard-filled pastry traditionally cut into triangles.
In France the pastry is filled with
frangipane
Frangipane ( ) is a sweet almond-flavoured custard, typical in French pastry, used in a variety of ways, including cakes and such pastries as the Bakewell tart, conversation tart, Jésuite and pithivier. A French spelling from a 1674 coo ...
and called a
jésuite
A Jésuite is a triangular, flaky pastry filled with frangipane cream and topped with sliced almonds and powdered sugar. The pastry originated in France and the name refers to the triangular shape of a Jesuit's hat. A similarly-named sweet pastry ...
.
[Rinsky, Laura Halpin]
''The Pastry Chef's Companion''
p. 149, Wiley 2009
See also
*
Ham and cheese sandwich
*
List of sandwiches
Sandwiches are a common type of lunch food often eaten as part of a packed lunch. There are many types of sandwiches, made from a diverse variety of ingredients. The sandwich is the namesake of John Montagu, Earl of Sandwich, a British statesman ...
References
{{Sandwiches
Sandwiches
Argentine cuisine
Uruguayan cuisine
Cheese sandwiches