Sunday, June 17, 2007

Gastronomic Tour of Northern Ecuador

Yesterday we headed up to the province of Imbabura, in the northern part of Ecuador. Usually we head out mid-morning, stop and have lunch somewhere, go check out the town of Cotacachi where there's a piece of farmland Maria's uncle has cattle on, then on to Ibarra.
Our first stop was the Hotel El Indio, in Otavalo. We had a good typical Ecuadorian lunch there. No photos, as it was nothing extraordinary and I didn't think about taking pictures. I had Trout Almandine; we also ordered grilled chicken, beef fillet, and shrimp. As is typical in most of Ecuador, everything is served with french fries and rice, and a little salad of chilled poached vegetables, usually carrots, peas, and cauliflower.

Our next stop was the Heladeria in Ibarra, which has been around since 1896. The lady who owns has passed on, I believe. But she was able to construct more than one multi-story building in it, and has two locales, if not more. The two stores are right across the street from one another, and are always busy. One scoop costs 60 cents, and you can ask for two flavors. A bowl costs a $1. The ice cream is soft and pure fruit flavor. They still make it the old way, with copper pots on top of ice and straw-I guess that insulates-the ice cream turned by hand. It's really sorbet, as there is no cream used, just fruit and sugar.

From there, we stopped for Empanadas de Morocho, another Ecuadorian food often eaten as an appetizer or just a little snack. Morocho is a variety of white corn, which is ground and used fo make the dough for these. They usually have peas, rice, and sometimes a little ground meat inside. You stop in this place and just tell them how many you want, and then and there they fire up the fryer with fresh lard and serve you on very economical grease-absorbent pieces of paper. It's handy to bring along some plates in a picnic basket. They also have delicious ají, typical Ecuadorian hot sauce, which you spoon over to serve. The place is just off the main plaza, don't miss it.

On the way back we stopped in Cayambe, which is outside of the Imbabura province, still in Pichincha. This town is famous for its "bizcochos" or biscuits, which are not a traditional biscuit in the sense most Anglo readers would know. They are a light, savory, crunchy lady-finger shaped pastry, delicious with coffee or tea, or for breakfast. They are almost as ethereal as puff pastry, just a little more dense. There are dozens of bakeries making these at all hours in Cayambe, and you can stop in at any time of day and get them fresh and hot, usually about 15 of them for $1.

Below is the slideshow of the tour.

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Quimbolitos

Today we had Quimbolitos, which are little cake items-they're not desserts and they're not a meal. They are cooked in a steamer. You make this kind of cake batter with a few raisins in it, put it in an achira leaf, wrap it up like a tamale, and steam it until it's done.

The achira leaf gives it a kind of mild citrussy flavor, more sweet than savory. You eat Quimbolitos either for breakfast or at evening tea time. Dinner is kind of optional here, I think most households opt for something similar to what is called "onces" in Chile. You usually have bread, cheese, maybe some cold cuts, jam, and if you want, some of the leftovers from lunch. This is all served with coffee or tea, or sometimes colada, a drink I'll discuss in another post.Quimbolito.jpg

Thursday, June 07, 2007

Empanadas de Viento

Empanadas de Viento are a typical Ecuadorian food, oftentimes served as an appetizer or as a snack in the evening. They have a typical flour, butter, water and salt dough. On the inside, they are filled with a mix of green onions lightly sauteed in fat/oil with achiote for coloring, and Ecuadorian Farmers Cheese, or fresh cheese.

It sounds strange, but they are delicious with a little sugar and Ecuadorian Ají (chile pepper sauce) on top. You get the mild crispiness of the dough, the saltiness of the cheese and onions, the spiciness of the chiles, and the sweet sugar all in one bite. MMMMM!

Sunday, June 03, 2007

Achira Leaves


This is a plant commonly found in the Ecuadorian highlands and used to wrap what are called ¨Quimbolitos¨, which are a dessert made with a cake-like batter, which is then wrapped in one of the Achira leaves and steamed. The leaves give a pleasant, very mild addition of flavor. I can't describe what it's like right now but next time I have one I will do my best.