Ecuador Trip!
June 16, 2008
For the last couple of days I have been in Ecuador on business – pretty cool huh? It was like my company new that I had just launched a new International Cuisine Series, and that I had been looking for inspiration! I was certainly hoping that my trip would give me some new ideas and exciting things to blog about!
I stayed in La Mariscal region of Quito, and despite being on business I managed to wangle a couple of days sightseeing too – to endure a 16 hour flight and not see anything would be enough to send anyone over the edge! I made it my mission to see as much of the city as I could in the 36 hours I was there, and in particular I wanted to get a feel for the people, the culture and of course, the food.
As always with a new country, I always try and sample the ‘real’ food of the area – in my mind that means getting a good mix of street food, food in local restaurants, and usually endless searching around market stalls, grocery stores and even supermarkets! The ‘Rough Guide’ said that Ecuador is traditionally famous for it’s exotic fruits, vegetables, seafood dishes and steaks (often imported from Argentina) so I was soon on a mission to tick all the boxes.
During my walks around the town, I had numerous glasses of fresh juice – my favourites were mora (blackberry juice), passion fruit and papaya juice, although I have to having a few too many mojito’s…. also very good (I think)!!!!
Lunches and snacks that I tried included bolon (a ball fried ball made of mashed plantain and cheese), empanadas and Ecuadorian fried rice. By far the best evening meal I had was an Argentinian steak… now this thing was literally HUGE – I don’t think whole cows are even that big in the UK! Unfortunately I never managed to get a picture of the steak as I stupidly forgot my camera, but trust me, it was good.
Just before I left, I found a fantastic bookshop just around the corner from my hotel and after a fair bit of searching, managed to find this book on Ecuadorian cooking – in particular there are some great soups, snacks and seafood recipes that I’ll be having a go at very soon. In fact, just the thought of those empanadas is making me hungry….
Anyway, here are a few pictures from a very enjoyable trip.
The gardens of the Monastery of San Francisco Qutio’s Old Town
A view of Qutio from the top of the Teleferico
and finally…. ensalada de frutas. This was just what I needed after a hard days sightseeing!
Entry Filed under: Dessert, Ecuador. Tags: Bolon, Ecuador, Ecuadorian, Empanadas, Ensalada de frutas, Fruit Salad, healthy, international cuisine, Mora, Quito, Recipes, Travel.
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