- Central America And Mexico
Ecuador
Since Ecuador has such diverse vegetations, its food is known for an array of exotic fruits, numerous potatoes and plentiful seafood. While Churrasco, a dish consisting of rice, meat and potatoes is a national favorite, soup is undoubtedly Ecuador's specialty. If you like spicy food, you are in luck! A recipe for Aji, a very popular hot chili sauce that is eaten with most Ecuadorian food, can be found below.
Ecuadorian Aji
Ingredients
- 4 hot red peppers (aji peppers or similar small hot peppers such as cayenne)
- 2 garlic cloves
- ½ cup water
- 2 tomatoes, peeled and chopped
- 3 tablespoons scallions, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 lemon, juice of
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon salt
Directions
- Combine the water, peppers and garlic in the blender and blend well.
- Strain the liquid into a bowl and discard any solids.
- Add the balance of the ingredients and mix well.
- Store in the refrigerator.
- For a variation, Ecuadorians like adding beans to their salsa. The most popular beans are lupini, which are large white beans about the size of lima beans. Just add the cooked beans directly to the salsa. Or, add 1 teaspoon peanut butter with the chiles in the blender and follow the above recipe.
