Cuenca, a city in Ecuador's southern highlands, owes its greatest culinary fame to the Lenten soup fanesca, but mote pillo (Moh-tay Pee-yo) might run a close second. This breakfast favorite consists of eggs scrambled with hominy in the presence of onion, garlic, and cilantro; in my experience mote pillo is quite mild without the intervention of hot sauce. Also shown below, from the same Christmastime visit: a "toro Navideño."
From a previous holiday season: Literally a "bread baby," Ecuador's guagua de pan is a sweet bread prepared in anticipation of Día de los Difuntos. This "Day of the Deceased," observed throughout the Andes on November 2, is less well-known in the United States than Día de Muertos, the Mexican "Day of the Dead." However, the holiday bread itself, compared with Mexico's pan de muerto, is often more elaborately decorated. My guagua de pan, in Ecuadorian yellow, blue, and red, was a modest example. A hot spiced purplish beverage called colada morada is the traditional pairing; reportedly, dunking is encouraged.
Adela's Cafe
94-01 37th Ave. (94th-95th Sts.), Jackson Heights, Queens
917-396-4106
