The following post features student writing.
Hi, it’s Haley, Anna, Jess, Jonah, and Zoe!
Today was the day of our independent project where we had the opportunity to cook alongside Pati, the mother of an Ecuadorian family and past Putney group host. With her instruction, we were able to cook traditional dishes such as Papas de Tortilla (potato cakes), Bolla de Verde Sopa (meat-filled plantain ball soup), Ecuadorian Ensalada (salad), Tomate de Arbol Jugo (tree tomato juice), and Empanadas de Platano y Queso (plantain and cheese emapanadas).
Prior to cooking, Pati showed us her beautiful and diverse garden which was filled with plants such as tree tomatoes (from which we made the juice), mandarins, cilantro, apples, and oregano. She allowed us to both taste and smell the herbs and fruits in her garden. While some were familiar to us, some were unknown to us and interesting to see, smell, and taste. For instance, we have never tried magie or tree tomatoes before! From the staircase above her garden, there was an amazing view of both her entire garden and the landscape behind it. It was beautiful!
After viewing her garden, Pati shared old pictures of both her family and past Putney groups who had stayed in her house. The pictures demonstrated the differences in our upbringing versus the upbringing of her family in our traditions, celebrations, food, and overall lifestyle. It was amazing to see! There were also some funny pictures of her kids (she has four!) when they were little and very cute. 🙂 Also, it was cool to see the pictures of the Putney groups that were here before; Haley even recognized one person on a past trip!
After looking at the pictures, we finally started cooking lunch. We performed various tasks such as peeling and washing potatoes (Zoe was amazing at that!), cutting plantains and vegetables (carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, and lettuce), forming meat-filled plantain balls, and shucking corn. Pati would show us how to do each task first and then she would allow us to complete the tasks ourselves, which was a cool cultural experience! After following Pati’s instructions for each task, we finished a salad with lemon dressing (ensalada), a soup with meat-filled plantain balls (bolla de verde sopa), potato cakes (papas de tortilla), and tree tomato juice (jugo de tomate de arbol) and sat down for a delicious lunch!
After eating lunch and talking in Spanish for the entire meal, we made the empanadas. Pati made the dough for us and we filled them with queso fresco (fresh local cheese) and bananas. We ate them for dessert fresh out of the frying pan but we could only have one each because we were stuffed from the delicious lunch! However, she packed them up for us to eat later which was great. 🙂
After this, we went home with full stomachs, smiles, and new knowledge about Ecuadorian cooking. Overall, the day was amazing and we all had the best time!
Here are the recipe for our delicious lunch!
Papas de Tortilla (Potato Cakes)
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Wash and peel the potatoes.
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Cut the biggest potatoes in half so all are of equal size.
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Boil for 15-20 minutes.
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Remove the potatoes from the water and mash them with a masher.
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Add enough achiote to the mashed potatoes to change their color.
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Cut two large chunks of queso fresco and chop them up into smaller pieces.
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Grab a handful of the potato mixture and put one piece of cheese in it.
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Roll the potato into a ball.
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Repeat until no potato mixture remains.
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Heat a pan with oil and fry the cakes for 5-10 minutes or until as brown as you desire.
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Flip the cakes and fry for 3 more minutes.
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Estan listos!!
Bolla de Verde (Soup)
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Boil a pot of water.
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Peel two green savory plantains.
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Add the plantains, cilantro and magie into the boiling water.
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Dice one stalk of green onion, a carrot and a green pepper.
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Add the carrots and onion into the soup and wait 20 minutes.
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Peel two more savory plantains and grate them with a small grater.
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Shuck 3-4 stalks of corn and cut them into fourths (be sure to cut off the point at the top of the corn).
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Fry 1 pound of ground beef in a pan with oil and one diced red onion.
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Add the corn stalks into the soup.
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Remove the two plantains that are already in the soup and mash them with the bottom of a mug (if you want to be authentic :)).
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Wash, peel and cut 15 potatoes.
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Mix the grated and mashed potatoes in a bowl with your hands.
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Add a large chunk of butter, two large pinches of salt, and one egg to the plantains and mix together.
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Take a handful of the plantain mixture and make a bowl.
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Add a spoonful of the meat mixture into the bowl and roll it into a ball (We made twelve balls of varied sizes).
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Add the plantain balls and the remainder of the meat into the soup.
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When the plantain balls rise to the top, the soup is done!!
Tomate de Arbol Juice
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Take six tomates de arbol, cut off the tops and peel them.
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Cut them in half and put them into a blender.
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Add 4-6 cups of water (depending on the amount of tomates you use).
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Add a bunch of sugar into the blender and blend the juice.
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Strain the juice into a pitcher and enjoy!
Ecuadorian Ensalada
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Wash a head of iceburg lettuce and rip it apart into a bowl.
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Cut up a cucumber, carrot, pepper and two tomatoes.
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Squeeze in half a lemon and add two pinches of salt.
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Add some oil, toss and enjoy!
Empanadas
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Put 3 pounds of flour, 2 eggs, a large chunk of melted butter, a cup of water, and a cap full of baking powder into a large bowl (or you can use a tupperware container like we did).
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Mix and knead thoroughly with your hands.
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Cut two bananas into small pieces.
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Cut a generously large piece of queso fresco and mash it up with your hands (it will look like feta cheese).
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Take a rolling pin and cover it with oil.
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Take a handful of dough and roll it out.
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Put one or two pieces of cheese or banana in the center of the flattened dough and fold it over.
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Seal off the empanada by pressing the dough with your fingers.
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Fry in a pan with oil for 5 minutes, flipping when necessary.
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Repeat until there is no more dough.