Seco de Pollo - Ecuadorian Chicken Dish

One of my favorite meals from Ecuador is Seco de Pollo. Seco means "dry", but this dish is anything but dry. My friend, Maria Isabel, taught me how to make the recipe in the Pastaza province of Ecuador. Here in Florida, it is the perfect dish to make March - May because just about all of the ingredients can be grown in the garden and picked right before eating. 

We were able to make dinner for six for about $1 (15 cents per person!) Most of the ingredients are grown on our farm, including the pastured chicken. 

Seco de Pollo

2 tomatoes

1 purple onion

2 carrots

2 green peppers

2 T Aliño

Fresh cilantro

1 T mustard

1 tsp. cumin

1 T. achiote paste ( or 2 tsp. annatto powder)

salt

2-3 T. oil

Vine ripened tomatoes are a must! 

Preparing all of the food before cooking is very important, as this will make the dish very easy to prepare. It is made in one pot, making for easy cleanup. Dice the onion,  carrots,  tomatoes and bell peppers. 

You will also need to chop a handful of cilantro (or more :) and have some aliño on hand along with minced garlic.

I put about 2 Tablespoons of sunflower seed oil in a large pan. 

Cook the onions, peppers, carrots, garlic, and then add the tomatoes. 

Next, add 2 tsp or more of cumin, 1 tsp of annatto, 3 T of alino seasoning, and salt to taste. 

Next, add chicken pieces (I prefer to use dark meat for this dish). The chicken is from our own pastured chickens. 

add the cilantro and cover for 45 minutes. 

We serve this with white rice. You can also omit the chicken and add black beans or another protein. The vegetable mix is excellent alone on rice as well. 

Ecuadorian Rice

2 cups rice (rinsed well)

3 cups water

1 T. oil

1 T. chopped purple onion (optional)

salt to taste

Add all ingredients to a pot on the stove top set to medium/high. Place lid so that it is offset a bit. Bring to a boil. Boil until water is just above rice. At that point, place lid on securely and set to low. Cook for 20 minutes. 

Volquetero Recipe

This dish is common in Puyo Ecuador. Volquetero is literally translated as Dumptrucker. Essentially, it is a plate full of Ecuadorian bus/street food. It is a fun recipe that uses plantains. 

Plantain - sliced and fried in oil 

Chochos (Lupine beans - available in latino/italian grocery sections in glass jar) 

Chulpe (popped Maize Chulpe - available at latino markets)

Tomato - 1/2 chopped

Red Onion - 2 T

Lemon - juice from one small

Cilantro - 1 T fresh

Tuna - 1 can

Salt

Oil

1. Chop or finely slice onion and soak in water with 1tsp salt. 
2. Chop tomato and cucumber if desired.
3. Strain onion and combine with tomato, cucumber, and cilantro in a bowl and squeeze lemon over all. 
4. Heat 2 T oil in pan, add corn, place lid and shake over medium heat until kernels pop. The corn will appear larger, but not like the popcorn we are accustomed to as this corn pops inside. Strain on paper towel and lightly salt
5. Thinly slice plantains. Heat oil deep enough to cover plantain slices. Once oil is 350 degrees, add plantain slices and fry until lightly brown. Remove with wire spoon and strain on paper towel and lightly salt. 
6. Remove skins from Lupine beans by pinching. Rinse beans.
7. Drain can of tuna
8. Assemble the dish with plantain chips, corn, and beans topped with tuna and topped again with tomato, onion, cucumber. Add more lemon juice/salt if desired. 

Enjoy with a glass of passion fruit juice!

Cilantro

While living in Ecuador, we gained a love for cilantro. Unlike the cilantro that is typically sold in the United States,

Ecuadorian cilantro is slow to bolt, has thinner leaves, and a different flavor. We now grow both types. The Ecuadorian variety has less of the soapy taste that some cilantro foes complain about. 

The flowers of the cilantro plant are also pretty in a small vase. 

Aliño Recipe

Aliño is a very popular seasoning in Ecuador. We now make our own, with the addition of cilantro.

First, we separate the cloves of a head of garlic

An easy way to completely remove the peels is to remove the peeling with your hands that is very easy to remove and then soak the cloves in water with 1/4 c of baking soda for 20 minutes. 

After soaking, the remaining peel will remove easily

I then remove the leaves from the cilantro. 

I puree the garlic, cilantro, 1 T of cumin, 1 T of sunflower seed oil (optional) and a dash of salt. Add water if necessary to achieve a sauce like consistency. Typically, Aliño is made without cilantro, but I like the flavor with it added. 

This will store in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks. We add this to our Seco de Pollo chicken dish , pinchos (meat on a stick), and chicken empanada filling. It gives an Ecuadorian flavor to most any dish. 

You can also add this to mayonnaise, which makes a great dipping sauce for beef, potatoes, and vegetables.