Ecuadorian Feast #1

I held my first fundraising dinner for my trip to Ecuador on Wednesday with much success! We only invited about 8 people but everyone was very generous and I raised $250 after one evening! I am now well on my way to raising the $3500 that is needed to pay for the trip. I just want to thank everyone who came to my dinner once again for your generous donations!
I served a three coarse meal, all of which turned out very well. The meal started off with a plantain soup and corn bread, plantains are a very popular food to cook with in Ecuador. Next I served black beans with rice, which is a very common dish throughout Latin America. To finish off I served an Ecuadorian-style lemon curd with vanilla ice cream (I'm not so sure if the ice cream is all that Ecuadorian but the lemon curd sure is!)

I was asked numerous times for the recipes to these dishes, particularly for the plantain soup and the lemon curd. So for all those people who asked, here you go!

Plantain Soup (Serves 4) -

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 1 celery rib, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 -4 1/2 cups stock/broth
• 2 green plantains, peeled, quartered lengthwise & thinly sliced
• 1 bunch cilantro, stemmed and finely chopped
• 1/2-1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 bay leaf
• salt & pepper

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat.

Add onions, carrots, celery and garlic.

Cook, uncovered for 3-4 minutes until onions are soft but not brown.

Add stock/broth and bring to boil over high heat.

Add plantains, cilantro, cumin and bay leaf.

Season with salt a pepper.

Return to boil.

Reduce to medium-low and simmer, uncovered for 40-50 minutes or until plantains are very tender.

Remove and discard bay leaf.

Transfer half the soup to a blender and puree until smooth.

Return pureed mixture to pan.

If soup is too thick add more stock/broth.

Season with more salt/cumin if desired.

Lemon Curd (Serves 8) -

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup lemon juice, fresh
• 3 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1 cup water
• 1 lemon, zest of
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Mix the cornstarch in the water.

Put all the ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth.

Pour from the blender and into a saucepan and cook over a low heat until it thickens.

I will be holding one (possibly two more dinners) to fundraise for my trip in the new year.

Good luck with the recipes!