Fanesca

Fanesca is a soup traditional to Ecuador. Its components and preparation vary from one region to other of the country, if not from one family to another. It is typically prepared and served only in the week before Easter. It is a rich soup, with the primary ingredients being figleaf gourd ("sambo"), pumpkin ("zapallo"), corn, fava beans and twelve different kinds of grains, representing the disciples of Jesus, and salt cod, cooked in milk thickened with pumpkin seeds, due to the Christian religious prohibition against red meat during Holy Week (the week before Easter). It also generally contains hard boiled eggs, fried plantains, and sometimes empanadas. It is usually garnished with parsley and other native vegetables.

Fanesca is a midday dinner in itself.

External links

* [http://www.recipehound.com/Recipes/3484.html Fanesca recipe] en icon
* [http://www.ciao.es/Otros__Opinion_740881 Fanesca recipe] es icon
*Calvin Trillin, [http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/09/05/050905fa_fact "Speaking of soup"] , "The New Yorker", 5 September 2005. Trillin travels to Ecuador to experience true fanesca. Re-printed in "The Best American Travel Writing 2005".