100% Ecuadorian

It is around 3 pm. All types of vegetables and fruit are around me. Meijers is so big that I don’t know from which section I should begin my journey. The groceries’ list is on my mind, but right now I’m a little confused: too many ingredients, too many things to do. For cooking a perfect Ecuadorian meal it is necessary to prepare at least three dishes; one that represents the coast area, another one for the Galapagos Islands and finally the mountainous region. This is the ideal combination of flavors and ingredients because they are completely different from each other.  Several dishes, but in small amounts, is the way you can taste different things at the same time. Ecuador is a tiny country; it is only three miles bigger than Michigan. Despite its size, it’s one of the most diverse countries in the world in terms of nature, culture, language and food. In a couple of hours, you can travel from Quito (the capital) to the rainforest, jungle or the beach. Each region has its own products and obviously, its cuisine is based on different cooking techniques and amalgamations. My perfect meal definitely has to be diverse - as Ecuador is. In addition, this combination of dishes has just the right balance of proteins, carbohydrates and sugar. However, my mission’s challenge will be to replace the original ingredients with local ones because not all of them exist in the United States.  

Probably, this wouldn’t be a perfect meal if I was in Ecuador. Nonetheless, having been away from home for so many months and having eaten cafeteria food every single day, I’m craving for this type of food. Now that I am hundreds of miles away from my country, I just figured out the importance of local products, how different the combination of flavors from one place to another can be and how rich Ecuadorian food is. I definitely want to recapture all these flavors, but with American products.

            While I was in Meijers, I had to calculate the three recipes’ ingredients for four people. My guests/ sub chefs are two Ecuadorian friends and Hanna, a girl from Ann Harbor, who went to Quito last year and fell in love with Ecuadorian food. I decided to begin with the starter. For this dish, I need three big tomatoes as I will have to grate them; one onion -the Shallot type is better because its flavor is less strong- but I picked the purple one because I couldn’t find the other one; and a big green lemon bag. These last ones come exclusively from Mexico. For Ceviche, the starter, any kind of seafood is necessary; whether octopus, squid, shrimps or fish. Ceviche is a cold soup based on lemon juice, tomatoes and seafood. It is traditionally from the Galapagos Islands as you can find all types of animals there that are typically prepared for seafood dishes, especially lobsters. I opted for shrimps because they are easier to wash and cook. I bought the pre -cooked ones.

            The main dish represents the Andean region of Ecuador. The Indians’ diet consists of potatoes, different types of corn, pork and beef. I had the idea of cooking Llapingachos, which are small potato cakes with a cheese filling. Before going to Meijer’s, I had wanted to go to the Mexican market in Kalamazoo to buy fresh cheese and a type of potatoes called Chola, but it was closed; so I replaced these ingredients with mozzarella cheese and red potatoes. I wondered how these ingredients would affect the final result. The potato cake would be accompanied with steak and fresh salad.

            Another big bag of lemons is necessary for the dessert. The Ecuadorian coast is famous for having a huge variety of lemons. The meal’s final dish will characterize this part of Ecuador. The dessert is really simple: ten lemons, condensed milk, evaporated milk and crackers. Even though, there are not appropriate lemons, I was sure it was going to be delicious.

            Almost 4 pm. After one hour in the supermarket, I realized the most important and hardest part of my job was lying ahead: the cooking. I started making the Ceviche. Squeezing 20 lemons was harder than I would have imagined, especially when they are not ripe enough. The next day, my arms were sore because of all the force I had to put into it. However, lemons are the most important ingredients in this soup. Hanna and Majo (one of the Ecuadorian girls) were cutting and grading the onions and the tomatoes. They were laughing at all the tears the onions were taking out from their eyes. A secret someone once taught me for the Cebiche is leave the onions to rest in the lemon juice and when the soup is ready put it in the fridge. I continued with the entrée. I peeled, boiled and smashed the potatoes. Kneading the small potato cakes with cheese was so relaxing. I could feel the cheese melting in my hands. In contrast to that, frying the potato cakes was agonizing. We didn’t take into account that the only pan in the kitchen was small and old. Besides, the potatoes didn’t stick together. It took us almost one hour to fry them. Thankfully, I had people who helped me. The dessert was fast to prepare: blend all the ingredients with lemon juice, and then build different layers of crackers and the lemon cream, as it was lasagna.

            7pm. A diverse gastronomy was waiting for us! A small and squared table with a white and red mantle and a bottle with a candle on top was the first view of this meal. Despite all the technical problems and three hours cooking, Hanna and my Ecuadorian friends were finally sitting down around the table. The acidic Ceviche was like the ones I usually eat in the beach. The only difference was that outside, it was snowing; something that would never happen in Ecuador. However, the landscape was really pretty outside. We didn’t talk a lot while we are eating, we just savored the food, and every once in a while, someone made sounds of pleasure. The shrimps with lemon juice, tomatoes and lots of salt were followed by some neutral flavor like steak, potato cake and salad. The Llapingachos didn’t have their normal aspect and texture because of the different type of potato, but their flavor was still delicious and full of cheese. The lemon mousse was creamy, sweet and fluffy. It was my favorite dish among all. Sharing Ecuadorian food with people that enjoy it just as much as I do is incomparable. Recapturing again my home flavors after so many months away is unique. Achieving a multi diverse meal is amazing. This was just my perfect meal!

Hanna and Majo cutting tomatoes and onions

 Ceviche 

Llapingachos

Preparing the Lemon Mousse

Before eating

Enjoying my entrée