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.

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