10 hours ago, Deryn said:Panaderia, when I was reviewing the last couple of lines of the recipe you posted on LindaK's Salt Cod Diary thread, I noticed you say that you should just stand there and stir - and then that, after about 3 and a half hours, the fanesca is ready. Do you really stand there and stir for that entire 3.5 hours?
If so, I am going to have to work out a mini-facsimile version of this recipe that can be made in the Thermomix I think. Or perhaps there is a version we could come up with that might work in the IP - since risotto can be made in a pressure cooker without stirring but on the stove should be stirred. I know that would be cheating but since I can't get all the authentic ingredients here anyway, whatever I do to approximate the real thing is probably going to fall short but one hopes the results would still be a tribute to the idea of Fanesca and enjoyable anyway.
I realize that something this special, prepared during Holy Week, probably does require a sacrifice and is a labour of true love, but I am not sure my arms would hold out for 3 and a half hours any more.
I figured I'd consult an expert: I called Fidelina. If you're making Fanesca on the stove, you apparently need to stir it frequently to make sure the corn isn't sticking to the bottom of the pot, but not constantly - like any cream soup with inclusions. If you're making it over wood fire, you have to keep it moving. You might be able to do this in the Thermomix if you're willing to sacrifice the texture of the grains, which are normally left whole - but for making the squash and peanut cream base it would probably be a godsend. I have no idea about doing the final cooking in a pressure cooker, but I suspect it would work if your cooker is large enough to accommodate the volume of soup involved.
Incidentally, I've had versions of this soup that aren't cream-based, that omit the peanuts, that substitute quinua for one of the grains, that omit the zambo, and that omit the bacalao entirely - and they're all called Fanesca. I think the intention is the most important thing. The recipe I've presented is an older, more traditional one with all the trimmings.
51 minutes ago, LindaK said:
Thanks for all the great photos. I've been looking forward to a sighting of the legendary fanesca--it did not disappoint (but your mom's seafood rice looked fabulous too). It seems such a curious mix of ingredients, same with the plantain, egg, and cheese topping too--is there a traditional of bringing these ingredients together in other Ecuadorian dishes?
Like Deryn, I'm interested in the instructions, especially re: the point you make in the recipe about not scraping down the sides and bottom of the pot during the long cooking. If that's the case, I wonder whether that means fanesca can't be made in a pressure cooker or Thermomix. Do you have any experience/knowledge of using either to make fanesca?
I've been reviewing Fidelina's recipe because I was wondering the same thing - and when I called her, she reminded me that the instructions to not scrape down the pot are for making the soup in a giant cast-iron cauldron over a wood fire. She says on the stove you absolutely can and should scrape it, because it's going to behave quite differently. Fidelina also says the grains can be pressure-cooked before you take off their skins (and this is absolutely what I do - it saves hours of prep time), but mentions nothing about doing the final thing in the pressure cooker - she's always made too much volume to try this. And she says hello and happy Easter to all you people out around the world daring enough to want to make this dish! The fact that the tradition is being kept alive around the world thrills her to no end.
I've only ever made Fanesca myself in big pots, often as part of a family celebration - my first time ever, because I proved so good at it, I was on chocho-shelling duty and then duly took a turn as a pot-stirrer.
On the question of combining ingredients: Plantain-egg-and-cheese? That's a really common combo here - it's all that's necessary for a delicious breakfast! Slices of fried maduro with cheese on top and scrambled or hard-boiled eggs is called a Desayuno Guayaco (Guayaquil Breakfast). Peanuts-cream-squash is also the basis for a number of well-known dishes, including Encocado (peanut-coconut-curry) and Locro de Zapallo (a thick squash soup.) The concept of combining grains is present in the Volquetero (corn, fresh lupines, and plantain with red onion and tomato salad and tuna fish) and in most snacking mixes. HOWEVER, there are few non-ceremonial recipes that are so complex as Fanesca - Ecuadorian cooking in general is about highlighting the quality of one or two ingredients and allowing them to shine, and most recipes are far less involved. Fanesca, on paper, looks like it ought to be a sort of dog's breakfast of flavours and textures, but it somehow all comes together beautifully.
The concept of a massive concatenation of ingredients shows up again around Día de los Difuntos with the traditional Colada Morada. Apart from that, I can't immediately call to mind any other recipes that almost require communal participation.