Recipe - Dhanis (Pronounced Dee-Hen-Is) Parisa (Pah-Ree-Sa)

1 pound Very lean ground beef
One half pound Grated American cheese
One half pound Very finely chopped onion
(less if it's very strong)
4 Finely chopped serrano
chilies (or 23 fresh
jalapenos)* (up to 5)
Salt & fresh ground black
pepper to taste
1 Lime , juice of

By way of thanks, I'm including a really popular recipe from here in Medina
County, Texas, for Parisa (kind of a steak tartar variation).

Parisa is an Alsatian dish brought over by the Europeans who settled my
adopted part of the world in the 1840's. It's very popular as a cracker
spread (just regular saltines), and no party or gathering around these
parts is complete without dried sausage slices, bastada (sour pork meat
pie), parisa, cheese, crackers and lots of cold frosty beer to wash it all
down!

Parisa was an acquired taste for me, but my children, who have grown up on
it, will eat it with a fork minus crackers almost anytime of day (but not
with beer ;))

Mix beef, cheese, onion and peppers. Add salt, pepper and lime juice to
taste; mix again. Keep covered in refrigerator until ready to serve, about
34 hours. (The oldtimers around here say that the lime juice "cooks" the
meat. I've never known anyone to get ill from eating parisa unless they
drank too much beer!!!)

*some people leave out the peppers entirely, but most around here
(especially my husband and his family) like it really "hot" makes the
cold beer just that much more important! I guess it's the strong Hispanic
influence (we're only 50 miles from Mexico). Posted to EATL Digest 11 Mar
97 by Cheryl Zinsmeyer MaeWestern@AOL.COM on Mar 12, 1997