Locro de Papa

Locro de Papa (Potato soup), from Ecuador

Here is a recipe from Ecuador for a delicious typical potato soup from the highlands near Quito. Courtesy of Paola Diaz, Information Officer, at the Charles Darwin Research Station in Puerto Ayora, Galapagos Islands.

• 10 peeled potatoes cut in squares
• 1 onion sliced very tiny
• 1 cup of milk
• 4 or 5 cups of water
• salt and pepper
• avocado
• Manteca de Color (Achiote - read about it here - to give the soup the yellow color) or you can use normal oil

Fry the sliced onion in the achiote or in the oil, then add the peeled potatoes and the cups of water until the potatoes are covered with the water in a big sauce pan. Add the salt. Boil the potatoes until they are soft, and when they are ready, add the cup of milk (the milk should be added a few minutes before serving). The soup is served with avocado cut in slices.

submitted by: Doris Welsh

Recipe for Tascalate

Traditionally, tascalate is prepared by washing corn, sun drying it and later broiling it in an oven side by side with the cacao. When ready it is ground with cinnamon, toasted tortillas and achiote, which gives a nice orange color. It is then mixed with cold water or milk and sweetened with sugar.

The recipe is so simple it looks hard. Here's what you do:

Mix toasted corn meal, cocoa, achiote paste, and chile powder or cinnamon, to taste, in water. Drink hot or cold.

This can be sweetened with honey or sugar, but traditionalists prefer it with only the sweetness of the toasted corn meal. Usually, the chile powder is used in the unsweetened version, the cinnamon in the sweetened.

I also found this recipe, which is more specific:

• 1 kilo grilled and crushed tortillas
• 250 g peeled and roasted cocoa beans
• 10 cinnamon sticks, cut into small pieces
• 5 g achiote paste
• water, as necessary
• sugar to taste
  
  Preparation
  Mix the crushed tortilla with the cocoa, cinnamon and the rocou and grind them in a hand mill. To prepare the drink, add two spoonfuls of this preparation per glass of water, sweeten to taste with sugar and beat with a whisk ('molinillo') before serving.
  
  Remarks
  A tortilla is a sort of pancake made with corn flour
  The sugar can also be added during milling to be blend perfectly with the other ingredients.

Cochinita Pibil

Cochinita pibil (also puerco pibil) is a traditional Mexican slow-roasted pork dish from Yucatán Península. Preparation of traditional cochinita or puerco pibil involves marinating the meat in strongly acidic citrus juice, coloring it with annatto seed, and roasting the meat while it is wrapped in banana leaf.

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup Annatto or Achiote paste
• 10 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 1/2 cup orange juice
• Juice of 2 limes
• 8 bay leaves, crumbled
• 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoon ground thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 4 pounds pork butt, cut into 2-inch chunks
• 1 pound banana leaves, softened over low flame, or foil
• 2 white onions, sliced 1/2inch thick
• 5 Roma tomatoes, sliced 1/2inch thick
• 4 Anaheim chiles, roasted, peeled and sliced into strips

Directions

In a medium size bowl, mash together the achiote paste, garlic, orange juice, lime juice, bay leaves, cumin, cinnamon, thyme, oregano, salt, and pepper with a fork. Add the pork, toss to evenly coat and marinate, at room temperature, at least 4 hours.

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Heat a dry cast iron skillet over high heat. Char the onion until blackened on both sides. Char the tomatoes on both sides. Reserve.

Line a large baking dish with one layer of the banana leaves or foil. Arrange the pork in an even layer and top with the onions, tomatoes and chiles and all the marinade. Cover with more banana leaves and wrap the dish tightly in foil. Bake for 21/2 hours or until the pork is tender and moist. Remove from oven and let sit 10 minutes. Unwrap and serve with pickled shallots.

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