Laylita’s recipes

Our plan when we submitted our proposal to Foodbuzz for this month’s 24, 24, 24 (24 Meals, 24 Hours, 24 Blog Posts) was to take you on an extensive culinary tour through the city of Quito, the capital of Ecuador, located in the middle of world.  There were so many places and so many different foods we wanted to try and share with you, but how we could possibly do this in just 24 hours? So, we split up into two teams: on Team 1 we have two students in love: Matt (my French brother-in-law) and Olga (his beautiful Ecuadorian girlfriend); and on Team 2, we have yours truly and Marc (my 3 yr old).  Team 1 is going to show you the more romantic side of the city, while Team 2 is going to show you that even a 3 year old can enjoy a gastronomical adventure in one of the oldest cities of South America.  This is a long story to tell in one post, so we will split this story into two parts. The first part is Matt and Olga’s adventure. Enjoy!

Photography/narration by Matt and Olga
Quito is an exciting mix of both old and new: colonial buildings huddled next to local skyscrapers and US style shopping malls, on the busy streets business professionals stride pass indigenous musicians, fruit and craft sellers. Quito, 2850 meters high (that’s 8,464 feet above sea level), has perfect spring weather thanks to its location in the heart of the Andes. You know you’re in the Andes wherever you walk because you are constantly out of breath (this is not true for the locals who are accustomed to the altitude). The city is surrounded by marvelous volcanoes, including the Pichincha to the West as well as the Antisana and the Cotopaxi - the highest active volcano in the world. Quito not only offers a spectacular natural setting, but it has also an exceptional historical and architectural wealth. Indeed, it was the capital of a much bigger area called “The Kingdom of Quito”, this explains the high concentration of colonial churches and museums. In 1978 the city was first in the world to receive World Heritage Site status from UNESCO.
We’re pretty sure you’re not aware yet of how cool this city is, but we hope we’ll convince you with this brief panorama of the quiteño’s daily life. Indeed, our main goal while participating in Foodbuzz 24-24-24 was to show the world all the quality food, culture and “stuff” our little cozy country has to offer. We could spend hours promoting this incredible spot on Earth but this is not the aim of the event. However, we strongly recommend this great place called Ecuador because of its rich diversity: mountains, beaches, the Galapagos and the Amazon jungle.
We decided to give you a glimpse of both Quito old town (Center) and new town (North); the goal of this day was food, food and food, in fact we had the feeling we did not stop eating.

We started our day in the Centro Historico or Colonial Center of the Quito, one of the most impressive things in this city is that you can find food everywhere: walking in the streets, at traffic light stops, and so on; the same is also true for local street artists and lottery ticket vendors.

Breakfast in the Colonial Center

Olga and I spent a month in Quito in 2006 and one of the restaurants we went to back then was Tianguez, located under the San Francisco atrium on the Plaza by the same name.  We came back because of the incredible location and the good vibes of the place.

Our waiter John welcomed us warmly and the chef allowed us into his kitchen to take photos while he prepared a fruity milk shake.   For breakfast Olga had a tasty humita - a fresh corn cake stuffed with cheese and steamed in the corn husk, and the tree tomato milkshake. Tree tomatoes, also known as tamarillos, are a typical fruit from Ecuador; they are used frequently to make fresh fruit juices, as well as to make the traditional aji de tomate de arbol or spicy tree tomato salsa.

Our great waiter John showing off our traditional breakfast

Inside view of Tianguez restaurant

The chef preparing a tree tomato milk shake

Traditional humitas or fresh corn cakes steamed in corn husks

My breakfast consisted of a plateful of empanadas de verde or green plantain empanadas as well as empanadas de morocho or corn empanadas; I also choose to start the day with a canelazo or naranjillazo, a hot drink made with local aguardiente (cane sugar alcohol), cinnamon, and naranjilla – another delicious local fruit.  I took a canelazo because Layla suggested it as one of the things to try on this culinary tour, but in the end, it appears that it was not a good choice for a breakfast drink, since it contained something such a large amount of aguardiente.  According to Olga canelazo is best drunk at night (especially cold ones) in order to warm up or sleep easier, she does not recommend it for breakfast!

Matt’s canelazo: a great way to start the day

The finished product and our breakfast

Empanada platter

After breakfast we spent a couple of hours walking in the colonial streets to the see the old town sights with the sun warming us up , along the way  we had some freshly made orange juice at a juice stand. Fresh juices are one of the best things that Quito (and Ecuador) has to offer, they are inexpensive and delicious. You can find them made with every type of fruit imaginable, this is due to both the climate and the fertility of soil  that allow such a huge selection of fruits to be grown in Ecuador.

Taking a juice break

Photos from the Colonial Center in Quito

Lunch at the Santa Clara market

For lunch we wanted to stay on the traditional route so we headed to the Santa Clara market, a food market located close to the State University. On the bottom floor of the market you can find an amazing variety of fruits, vegetables, and herbs, as well as a food court with various food stalls that serve typical food. On the second floor you will find meat and seafood, and also local ceramics and woven baskets.

Our lunch: hornado de chancho or roasted pork, mora or blackberry juice, come y bebe and guatita or tripe stew

Close-up of the tripe stew and the roasted pork dishes

Come y bebe or drinkable fruit salad and naranjillas to make fresh juices

The hornado or roasted pork food stalls

Fritada, another pork dish with plantains and mote or hominy

We thought this would be a very authentic place to have lunch, as most of the people having lunch there were indeed locals.Olga tried the come y bebe – a drinkable fruit salad, and guatita –cow stomach or tripe with potatoes in a creamy peanut sauce. This dish (as well as many other Ecuadorian dishes) is also known as wonderful cures for chuchaqui – a hangover. I had a juice made with moras or local blackberries and hornado – a very good roasted pork dish where the pork is marinated for several days with garlic, spices and beer, and then slowly roasted until the meat is tender and just melts in your mouth.

Different fruit and vegetable varieties at the market

To finish our lunch, we decided to go try the some helados de paila – handmade fruit sorbets, we heard great things about the ones made by Rosalia Suarez, but after searching and not finding her place, we gave up and went to Lekka Lekka, which was a close-by great alternative (if you find los Helados de Paila de Rosalia Suarez, please give us the address!).  Lekka Lekka makes great Italian style ice cream and is located at Los Shirys and Republica del Salvador. Olga tested 90% of the flavors before choosing a maracuya or passion fruit one, while I went for a mint/cappuccino ice cream.

Wine and great views at El Ventanal
El Ventanal is a new trendy restaurant with a great view of Quito. Olga and I discovered it recently thanks to a recommendation by Monse (my Ecuadorian mom and friend).  On our previous visit we had a charming night: the service was perfect, the food was modern and tasty, and the wine we had “a la copa” made the night joyful.

We wanted to come back for Foodbuzz 24-24-24, to see the sunset from there. Unfortunately, the restaurant was completely reserved for a presidential event. We called Katrin, the German manager of the place, she helped us and let us come anyway to take some pictures and enjoy some wine before the presidential security arrived. She was very sweet and we appreciate her effort. We could not order anything else besides bread and butter to go with our Chilean wine, but the view was amazing and we are happy to share it with you. Enjoy!

Views from El Ventanal

After the Ventanal, we went back to the Historical Center to the Ronda Street, to see the colonial streets from closer. The Historical Center and this street in particular have been restored and security has been increased to enable tourists spend some time enjoying the sights.  This cobbletone street is closed to cars at night and is inviting, well lit, and gives a true “old Quito” vibe, you really feel like you go back several centuries. La Ronda is also full of traditional restaurants, very cheap compared to the ones in the North.

Alkimia: the perfect final meal for our day

For dinner we wanted to contrast the tasty street and typical food we had for breakfast and lunch with the more modern and international dining that Quito has to offer. We decide to go to Alkimia, an upscale restaurant specializing in Mediterranean and Latin cuisine with a strong focus on local ingredients, located in La Floresta neighborhood.

The setting is very modern, with just enough light, but not too much, lounge music and contemporary furniture. The restaurant has different areas, including a private room downstairs, a lounge bar, the main room and the pergola where we ate.

Julio, the chef, was our host and opened Alkimia doors to us. He was running late because he had a lot of work in his other restaurant, the well known Theatrum, so while we waited we met Patricia at the bar and asked her for batidos de coco or freshly made coconut milk shakes. We were kind of hoping she could make these since we had enjoyed them the previous week at the beach but did not expect this drink to be available in the highlands, but fortunately, she found some coconuts in the kitchen and made our dream drink reality,  it was delicious and nicely  presented with some white chocolate.

Quick recipe for Patricia’s coconut milkshake
We will try making this delicious drink at home and get more precise amounts, but in the mean time here’s the quick version:
Ingredients:
Milk, condensed milk, coconut milk, chunks of fresh coconut plus a shredded coconut to garnish
Preparation:
Place the coconut milk, condensed milk and milk in the blend, mix well.
Add in the fresh coconut pieces, blend lightly and serve in a glass garnished with shredded coconut.

Once Julio arrived he tailored a tasting menu according to our preferences including three appetizers, two entrees and a degustation of desserts. He was amazing! He invited us into his kitchen and allowed us to photograph the preparation of our first appetizer, so we were able to share a bit of his passion for perfection. It was not hard to make good pictures of the food he was serving us.

Our first appetizer was grilled octopus, avocado mousse and beet confit served with beet greens, beet reduction and zartar.  Next we had a perfectly grilled red tuna on top of a pilaf of red, black and white quinoa, arugula pesto, balsamic honey and lime vinaigrette. Our final appetizer was Spanish inspired seafood stew made with octopus, squid and shrimp in a saffron and panca (hot pepper) broth.  Our first entrée consisted of goat cheese and sage raviolis in a creamy squash puree. The second entrée was cannelloni stuffed with oxtails braised in red wine, sprinkled with blue cheese and broiled au gratin, served with chard and the oxtail braising jus.  We finished this incredible meal with a degustation of yummy desserts (Olga’s favorite part).

Appetizers: grilled octopus, grilled tuna with quinoa, and seafood stew

Entrees: Goat cheese and sage ravioli with squash cream, and braised oxtail cannelloni with blue cheese

Exotic fruit sorbet and dessert tasting platter

Time to party

We went to Punto G, a cool dance club, to burn a few calories and enjoyed dancing Salsa, Reggaeton and Techno. For Olga and I this is the best club in Quito for all the good moments we’ve spent there (Hola los primos!).

The club was pleasant as usual; we managed to find some space in our full stomachs for a Club Verde, a very tasty local beer. We danced a bit and got back home to have our last drink “an aguita de Cedron” or lemon verbena tea.  An interesting anecdote: I lost my SLR lens cap while dancing so I went to see the club manager and thanked him for his warm welcome, I told him something like “If you find a lens cap, please keep it for me”, he looked at me and said “I think I saw it”.  I followed him unsure it could be true and he took it from the dance floor! Amazing eyes he had (lens cap is black)!

Special thank to all who helped us put together the wonderful culinary tour of Quito, including: Foodbuzz  for this great opportunity. John at Tianguez, for his great service and hospitality.  Katrin at Ventanal, for letting us come even if she had a big event with the Ecuadorian government. Patricia at Alkimia, for the best coco milkshake we’ve tasted so far in Quito, and for doing it with love and care.  Julio at Alkimia, for all the time you gave us even though your daughter was not feeling well, for being such a cool guy, and for the great food of course. Cristian at Punto G, thanks for the lens cap and for always making us feel welcome. All the other waiters and waitress we won’t forget even if we do not know their names.

This is end of Matt and Olga’s story; in the second part, Marc and I will share our story and photos as well as some of the videos/recipes from their story.

Mousse de maracuya or passion fruit mousse is a delicious and easy to make dessert, which is also very popular with friends who have tried it; in fact the first time I made was when one of my friends requested that I make it for dessert, she had passion fruit mousse in Brazil and loved it. The easiest way and most typical way to make this dessert (and many others in South America) is to use condensed milk.  I used condensed milk that first time and was not too crazy about, however when I added a spoonful of fresh passion fruit pulp on top of the mousse and some whipped cream on the side the taste improved dramatically. In fact combining the whipped cream and the mousse reminded of these amazing passion fruit and cream popsicles that I used to eat in Ecuador, and that was exactly the flavor that I wanted to obtain in the passion fruit mousse.  The second attempt was much more successful; I eliminated the condensed milk and replaced it with heavy whipping cream, I also added some fresh passion fruit pulp into the mix; it worked out very well.  Now, it is a question of preferences, I have a lot of friends that are crazy about condensed milk and they might have preferred the taste of the mousse with condensed milk; you can also do half condensed milk/half whipping cream version if you want the best of both worlds. Another reason I prefer using only the whipping cream is that it made the texture of the mousse a lot more fluffy and spongy.

In Ecuador (and many places in South America) maracuyas or passion fruits grow like weeds - seriously in the town where my parents live there are passion fruit vines everywhere; in addition if you go to the market or grocery store you can buy several huge passion fruits for less than $1. Here in the US it’s the opposite: it’s almost impossible to find passion fruits anywhere and when you are lucky enough to find them they are tiny and cost $2-$3 per fruit.  However,  most Latin grocery stores will carry frozen  and unsweetened passion fruit concentrate or pulp, which is what I use most of the time that make anything that calls for passion fruit. Yes, there is no comparison the taste of using fresh fruit, but it still works well. For this passion fruit mousse I used the concentrate to make the mousse and then used fresh passion fruits that I found at Uwajimaya (a local Asian grocery store, which also sells plantains, yuca starch, and many other ingredients used in Latin American dishes)  to garnish the mousses. I also added some fresh passion fruit pulp in the mousse mixture to give it extra flavor; however it will be fine if you just use the fresh fruit pulp to top off each serving.

You can either just put the entire passion fruit mousse mix into a large dessert bowl and keep it simple, or be very creative about serving and presenting them; I used a combination of small dessert molds, ramekins, and mini-glasses.  In addition to using the fresh fruit as a garnish, I also served each mousse with some extra whipped cream and some passion fruit sorbet, this last one was just an extra that I happened to have leftover from a different occasion, but it really added a nice touch to the mousse.  The quantities in this recipe are for about 15-20 small servings.
Ingredients:
2 envelopes unsweetened gelatin
¼ cup water
1 ½ cups passion fruit concentrate or frozen pulp, unsweetened
1 tbs lime juice
1 + 2/3 cups heavy whipping cream (or 14 oz can of condensed milk)
6 egg whites
½ tsp tartar cream
2 cups sugar
2-3 passion fruits, pulp and seeds - optional
Garnishes – Fresh passion fruit pulp from ~ 6 passion fruits, whipped cream, and/or passion fruit sorbet

Preparation:

1. Combine the passion fruit juice, sugar (use only 1 cup of sugar if using condensed milk instead of cream or 1 ½ cup if using half condensed milk and half cream), and lime juice in a sauce pan and heat until the sugar dissolves, remove and let it cool down completely.
2. Sprinkle the unsweetened gelatin over ¼ cup water in glass heatproof bowl, let soften for about 5 minutes.
3. Place the heatproof bowl over a simmering pot of water and stir until it dissolves, then stir in the passion fruit juice.
4. Place the passion fruit and gelatin mixture in a bowl of cold water and let it cool down for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Use an electric mixer to whip the cream until peaks form, and then use a spoon to mix in the passion fruit juice mixture – (if using condensed milk just mix it with the passion fruit juice or if using half condensed milk and half cream then whip the cream and then stir in the passion fruit juice and condensed milk).
6. Combine the egg whites and tartar cream in a large whipping bowl and mix until stiff peaks form.
7. Whisk 1/3 of the egg whites with the passion fruit and whipped cream mix.
8. Next use a spatula to gently fold in the remaining stiff egg whites.
9. Gently mix in the fresh passion fruit pulp and seeds if using.
10. Place the mousse in a large dessert mold or small individual ones, cover and refrigerate for 6-8 hours, overnight is ideal.
11. To remove the mousse from the small molds place them in a bowl with room temperature water before serving to loosen them, then slide a knife along the edges of the mold to help release the individual mousses.
12. Serve with a spoon of fresh passion fruit pulp on top, other optional garnishes include whipped cream and/or passion fruit sorbet.

In South America we eat rice with almost every meal, typical lunches include arroz (rice) with something: pollo or chicken, carne or meat, pescado or fish, camarones or shrimp or even just a huevo frito or fried egg.  Rice was always something very basic, nothing fancy, so when I heard of something called risotto it sounded very exotic and sophisticated; all of sudden rice was no longer something plain, you could make it “fancy”, at first I was a little bit afraid of even trying to cook risotto -especially after watching all these Italian movies that depict making risotto as some sort of secret heart surgery. So, it took me a while to talk myself into making it at home but finally I bought some Arborio rice at Trader Joe’s and just made a basic risotto following the instructions on the back of the box and it came out really good. After that I felt confident enough to get creative and make different types of risotto, adding meat or seafood or vegetables; basically it is an easy dish to make, very versatile and a good one to impress people (especially if they’ve been traumatized by those Italian movies).
This asparagus risotto is a great way to enjoy all that yummy asparagus that is in season right now. I typically use chicken broth but you can also use vegetable broth if you want to keep it a vegetarian dish.  My Italian friend Rossana says that she always adds a cube of chicken bouillon at the end (when you add the cream) and that it gives the risotto even more flavor. I love to add a drizzle of truffle oil when serving it, it gives it a nice finish; you can also use olive oil to drizzle if you don’t have truffle oil.  Finally, risotto is best when it is eaten as soon as it is made. Risotto can be served as an appetizer in small portions or also as a main dish in larger portions.

Ingredients:
1 large bunch of asparagus, washed and trimmed
2 cups uncooked Arborio rice
1 tbs butter
1 cup finely chopped white onion, about ½ onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
¾ white wine
4 cups broth
¼ cup heavy cream
½ cup grated parmesan
Salt and pepper to taste
White truffle oil to drizzle
Additional grated parmesan to serve

Preparation:

1. Place the asparagus in boiling water and boil for 2-3 minutes
2. Drain and place in ice water to stop cooking and to help lock in the bright green color
3. Cut the asparagus into small pieces, save the tips separately.
4. Puree the asparagus pieces with ½ cup of water and strain the puree.
5. Warm the broth in a medium sized pan, keep it simmering as it needs to be warm when it is added to the rice.
6. In a pan heat the butter, then sauté the onions and garlic until soft.
7. Add the Arborio rice and stir until coated with butter.
8. Stir in the wine, cook until the wine is reduced.
9. Add 1 cup of the warm broth, stir regularly and cook until the broth has reduced.
10. Add another cup of broth and continue the same process until all the broth is used and the rice starts to get tender, about 20-25 minutes.
11. Add the asparagus puree and the cream, stir well and cook for another 3-5 minutes.
12. Add grated parmesan and asparagus tips, stir well.
13. Serve sprinkled with additional parmesan cheese and drizzled with the white truffle oil.

Ensalada rusa translates as Russian salad and for the longest time I had no idea why it had that name, especially since this potato salad (or some variation of it) is served as a side dish for so many different Latin American meals.  Then one day when I living in Austin I met some Russians and at one of their parties they served this salad, then it hit me that the salad probably really did come from Russia; some other things that I found out that day was that the popular songs played at the end of street parties in Ecuador (Casachok and Moscow) were also  very Russian and were also danced at the same party - just when you think that there is no connection between Ecuador and Russia, then you find out there is a food + music connection.
This potato and vegetable salad is great for picnics and is an excellent side dish for any meat/poultry/seafood dish (especially grilled dishes).  There are so many variations of this classic potato salad, some even without the potatoes, but this one – at least for me – is the main one: potatoes, peas, carrots, apples, celery and mayonnaise. I like to add a little bit of lime juice, onions and garlic just to spice it up a little bit without turning it into a completely different version.  I also prefer to use homemade mayonnaise; just because it is tastier, but regular store bought mayo is fine.  Some people don’t include the apples but I love the crunch and sweetness that they add to the salad; other vegetables that are sometimes used to make this salad include green beans, corn, and beets.  I especially love making this salad during spring and summer because it is a great way to use all that fresh produce, but I also make this salad using frozen veggies when I’m in a hurry or during the winter.

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In college I had a classmate from Italy and one day when we were working on a group project she made this quick dish of pastas in a tuna and tomato sauce; it reminded me a lot of the quick pastas I used to make for my friends in high school.   I make this pasta dish on those days that I need to cook something that is easy, fast and that the whole family will eat or when I almost out of groceries.   I am a little bit picky about the type of canned tuna I use (probably because I grew up in a country that has very good quality canned tuna).  I prefer to kind that is packed in olive oil (instead of water), and it seems almost impossible to find canned tuna packed in olive oil at the regular grocery stores, fortunately I found it at Trader Joe’s (I love that store),  you can also find it a Whole Foods or other specialty store but the price is higher.
I usually use fresh tomatoes for this pasta dish, but you can also use a can of diced tomatoes instead.  If you want to upgrade this dish (and have a higher budget) you can make it using fresh tuna as well as fresh herbs and some grated parmesan cheese.

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We are finally starting to enjoy some warm spring weather here in the Pacific Northwest (also known to be colder than Siberia in the spring), it really felt like winter would never end – and just reading about the nice warm weather in other cities was making me insanely jealous- ,but now, finally there are daffodils, tulips and cherry blossoms everywhere. The kids are more excited about playing outside than about watching cartoons (yeah!); of course, after they are done playing they are thirsty and ready for something refreshing, which is exactly what they get with this fresh jugo de piña or pineapple juice.  I grew up drinking fresh homemade fruit juices as a kid and really it doesn’t compare to store bought juice, you also have complete control over the amount of sugar, which you can adjust based on the sweetness of the fruit and also your personal preference.  I highly recommend saving the skins and core of the pineapple to make chicha de piña – a spiced pineapple drink that is also very good.  For a grownup version of this drink you can add some cachaca (Brazilian sugar cane alcohol), aguardiente (Colombian/Ecuadorian sugar cane alcohol) or some rum.

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Caldo de bolas or sopa de bolas de verde is a typical soup from the Coastal region in Ecuador; it consists of dumplings or balls made from green plantains and stuffed with meat and vegetables served in a beef broth with corn and yuca.  The meat for the dumpling filling is boiled with some beef bones, the green plantains and other vegetables in the broth that will be used for the soup.  I had this soup for the first in Guayaquil, I was still in high school but was spending a few weeks in Guayaquil with a friend to work at the Feria de Duran (a huge international fair), we had an interview at a cosmetics company and after the interview (and confirming that we got the job) the owners of the company took us to have lunch, on the way to the restaurant they couldn’t stop talking about how great the caldo de bolas was at this place so of course everyone had it, and it was so good, the green plantain dumpling and the filling were so tasty and the broth was also full of so much flavor. You know how sometimes when you eat something new for the first time and it is so great that from then on you compare that dish to all the subsequent versions of that dish and it feels like the greatness of the original dish will never be matched? Well, that’s exactly how I felt about this soup, and all the times that I’ve tried to recreate the caldo de bolas I always try to remember the flavors of the first time I tasted it. While you can occasionally find this soup in the Highlands or Sierra region of Ecuador, the best one is the one that you will eat in Guayaquil or other cities in the Coast.

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