Naranjilla - Lulo: Juice Recipe

Naranjilla is a fruit grown in South America. It is called naranjilla in Ecuador and Lulo in Columbia. There are two varieties that I have grown. One has leaves covered in spines, but fairly clean fruit. The other has spineless leaves, however the fruits are covered in brown fuzz. Regardless of which variety you grow, the fruits should be washed and the stems removed prior to using the fruit.

This is what the spiny leaf fruit variety looks like when cut open. 

I squeeze the pulp and seeds into a bowl...

The pulp is then mixed with equal parts water, blended well, and strained. The seeds generally do not break apart when blending and are easily strained. 

Sugar will need to be added as the juice is quite tart. Naranjilla juice has a nice, semi thick quality and an unusually delightful flavor. It also makes an excellent shaved ice flavoring. This is made by first making a simple syrup by boiling 2x sugar to 1x water, then adding the strained pulp. 

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. 

Yuca ~ Cassava Preparation

While living in Ecuador, it was common to see a Yuca plants around each house and in the tuberous root available in markets. Restaurants that served hamburgers would often offer a choice between yuca fries and potato fries. The flour (tapioca flour) is also used to make wonderful doughs. Yuca is high in carbohydrates but low in protein. It also contains calcium, phosphorus, and vitamin C. 

Proper preparation is essential because the plant contains two cyanogenic glucosides. 

After digging up the roots, peel the exterior off using a knife or very sharp/sturdy peeler. 

Cut the root in half lengthwise, then in half again, making long quarters. This will help with removing the fibrous center (as seen in the middle of the root above).

Cut into strips and soak in water in the refrigerator for a few hours.

Drain, and boil until you can pierce the pieces easily with a fork....about 45 minutes

Now, the Yuca can be prepared as desired or stored in the refrigerator for a few days until ready to prepare or frozen.


Yuca Fries

For Yuca fries, heat 2 quarts of oil to 375 degrees and fry Yuca fries until crispy and golden brown...about 5 minutes. Remove fries and place on a paper towel lined plate before eating. You can also make cassava chips by cutting the yuca into thin slices before frying.

Pan de Yuca

1 c. yuca flour (tapioca flour, alimidon de yuca)
5 tsp. oil
1/3-1/2 c. milk
4 tsp. baking powder
2 c. fresh cheese (queso fresco) can substitute with mozzarella

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Kneed all ingredients for 3 minutes. Start with 1/3 cup of milk and only add more if necessary. If too much is added, you will not be able to roll the dough into balls. Form small golf ball sized balls and place on baking sheet with silpat or parchment paper. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden brown.

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!

Ecuadorian Chicken Empanada Recipe

While living in Ecuador, we loved to walk down the street and order chicken empanadas. Thankfully, we have been able to recreate the same flavors here in Florida. We start with an organically grown, free range chicken. We put it in a pressure cooker with 1 carrot, 2 celery leaf stalks, and a little salt and pepper. We then cover with drinking water, and seal. We cook it for about 30 minutes. After allowing it to cool a little, remove the chicken and begin separating the meat into a bowl. The broth is then strained and stored to be used for other recipes. 

Shred the chicken or cut using kitchen shears (our favorite kitchen tool). Next, we boil a pot of water and add in carrots which have been peeled and diced. Add 2 T of sugar and boil for about 5 minutes. Add in a cup or two of organic peas and continue cooking until tender. Strain and mix the vegetables with the chicken. 

Next, you will add 1-4 Tablespoons of cilantro/garlic seasoning - depending upon your preference. 

To make Cilantro/Garlic seasoning - In a blender, place 10 peeled cloves of garlic and one large bunch of fresh cilantro. Blend until smooth. Add 1-3T cumin and 2 tsp salt. This will store in the refrigerator for 10 days. 

Once you have mixed together the chicken, peas, carrots, and cilantro/garlic seasoning, you can freeze any extra mixture to use at a later date. This makes a wonderful freeze ahead meal.

Next, place a Tablespoon of filling into an empanada wrapper (recipe below). I purchase Goya pre made empanada wrappers that are sold in a plastic container (not bag) found in the frozen food aisle to make a quick meal. 

Gently fold over the edge, a finger tip width at a time, to seal. 

Heat oil to 350 degrees. Fry empanadas until lightly brown. Place on paper towel to absorb extra oil.

Enjoy!

These can be filled with all sorts of vegetables and meats. Queso fresco (fresh cheese) can also be used as a filling and the cooked empanada then sprinkled with sugar. 

Chicken Empanadas

1 c. cooked, shredded chicken

1/2 c. frozen peas

1 carrot, diced

1 T. sugar

1 tsp. salt (optional)

1-4 T. Alino (cilantro/garlic/cumin) seasoning

Empanada Wrapper Recipe

3 cups flour

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

1 stick of butter cut into pieces

1/2 – 2/3 cup cold water

Preparation:

1. In a food processor, mix the flour, salt and baking powder.
2. Add butter and 1/2 cup of water. Mix and add more water if needed to form a ball.
3. Once ball has formed, place dough in a covered bowl for up to an hour. 
4. Roll the dough into a thin sheet on a non stick rolling mat. Cut into circles and roll thinner if too thick. These should be very thin- about 2-3mm.
5. Use immediately or store in the refrigerator or freezer to use later with a piece of plastic between each circle. 

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.