An Ecuadorian Feast

  Last weekend Matt and I hosted a party for his department at our house. Fun times were definitely had by all! At some point in the night I convinced our friend David to come back this weekend to cook some Ecuadorian fare for us all to try. I don't think it was hard to talk him into it, I think he was flattered that a few of us were interested in his native food.  

We started with plantains.... we sliced them a few different ways and fried them. This batch was sliced about 1" thick, fried, then smashed into a patty and then fried again! I had never eaten plantains until Saturday. They were very yummy!

This is the beginning of the ceviche. David sliced onions and then added water and mushed them all up. Then added the fresh lime juice, cilantro, shrimp, and tomatoes. This was so delicious. I don't get to eat ceviche at restaurants because it is made of fish that I am allergic to. So, this was a treat for me. So light, and fresh!!!

The finished product!

 

This is David, he was our guest chef. I think in this picture he is preparing the hot sauce. It was hot, made with two habenaro peppers Matt and I grew last year. My friend Kayti and I had to have a glass of milk with this sauce. It was very tasty though.

 

This was the main dish. I don't remember what he called it but it is made from plantains that we grated really fine. Also in the mix is shrimp, coconut milk and a bunch of garlic. I topped my bowl with the hot relish. 

There were 6 of us at dinner and I think we decided we are going to try to do a monthly dinner party. Each person will cook their native foods or foods they specialize in. I am planning an Italian feast, Matt will probably fry some kind of meat. I look forward to the future dinners though, in the mix is our Turkish friend Necati and our neighbors Andrea and Zach who love to cook and try new recipes.

I would love to hear if any of you have any recipes to share!