Fanesca ecuatoriana (Ecuadorian Easter soup) is a traditional Ecuadorian recipe for a classic Easter soup of salt cod in a vegetable and bean basewith peanuts. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Ecuadorian version of: Ecuadorian Easter soup (Fanesca ecuatoriana).
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Fanesca is a very traditional soup from Ecuador that is typically only prepared once a year during Easter and Lent. This special soup is made with bacalao or salt cod, a mix of fresh squash and hard squash, broad (fava) beans, chochos, corn, peas, porotos or fresh beans, rice, onions, garlic, cumin, achiote, peanuts, milk, cream and cheese.
Fanesca or Ecuadorian Easter soup
Recipe for fanesca, an Ecuadorian soup or stew made only during Lent and Easter. This soup is made with bacalao or salted cod, squash, fava beans, chochos, corn, peas, porotos or fresh beans, rice, onions, garlic, cumin, achiote, peanuts, milk, cream and cheese.
Called 'tarwi' in Quechua, and 'lupini' in English, the Spanish legume 'chocho' is a relatively new name on the list of superfoods. Scientifically known as Lupinus mutabilus, chocho is a type of lupin bean that has been cultivated in the high altitudes of the Andean Mountains in South America for over 1,500 years
Ingredients:
1kg bacalao seco or dried salt cod
1kg of diced sambo or fresh courgette
1kg of diced zapallo or squash (about a small sized squash butternut squash or a large kabocha squash)
150g of shredded cabbage
680g of cooked and peeled broad (fava) beans
660g of cooked corn kernels
435g of cooked green peas
150g of cooked lima beans
150g of cooked alubias or cannellini beans
150g of chochos or lupini beans peeled
350g of rice (cooked) – boiled in plenty of water until very tender
8 tbsp butter
1 tsp of achiote or annatto powder
150g of diced white onion
150g of diced red onion
10 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp of ground cumin
1 tbsp of dry oregano, crumbled
1 tsp of ground black pepper
300g of roasted peanuts
2.5–3l of milk (you can also use less milk and replace it with the stock used to cook the vegetables for a lighter version)
250ml of double (heavy) cream
about 300g of cream cheese (adjust to taste)
150g of crumbled queso fresco (or use feta cheese as a replacement)
½ bunch of coriander or parsley finely chopped (about 6 tbsp)
Salt to taste
Other additional ingredients (optional and added if you like them or have them available):
chickpeas, mellocos (an Andean small tuber), lentils, hominy corn, other types of beans – all ingredients should have been previously cooked so they're tender
Serve with:
Hard-boiled egg slices
Fried ripe plantains
Empanadas de viento or Ecuadorian fried cheese empanadas
Hot chilli slices
Aji criollo hot sauce
Curtido de cebolla blanca or white onions marinated in lime juice
Queso fresco or fresh cheese slices
Avocado slices
Method:
Soak the salt cod in water for 24 hours (or even up to 48 hours if you want a very mild salt cod flavour), changing the water every 6-8 hours. Each time the water should be less and less salty, at the end cut the cod into medium sized pieces (if it doesn’t come already cut).
Cook the diced butternut squash (or kabocha) and fresh squash/zucchini separately, with a just enough water to cover them, cooking until they are very tender. Save the water from cooking the squash and other veggies if you would like to use it (in place or in addition to the milk in the recipe)
Boil the shredded cabbage with a small amount of water for about 3 minutes.
In a food processor or blender, combine the cooked squashes, the cooked rice, and the cooked cabbage. Blend until you have a thick purée (you can add some of the vegetable stock or water from cooking them, if the mixture is very thick).
In a saucepan, bring 1.5 of milk to boil, add the pieces of soaked and desalted cod, and cook on a low/medium boil for about 8-10 minutes.
Blend the roasted peanuts with 500ml of milk, set aside until ready to add to the soup.
To begin cooking the soup, heat the butter over medium heat in a large stock pot or soup pot, to make a refrito or base for the soup. Add the onions, garlic, achiote, cumin, oregano and pepper and cook until the onions are tender (about 5 minutes).
Add the squash, rice and cabbage puree and mix thoroughly to combine.
Add 500ml to 1l of milk and mix well.
Add the broad (fava) beans, corn, green peas, lima beans and cannellini beans (and any of the other optional ingredients: cooked lentils, chickpeas, mellocos, etc).
Mix well and let the ingredients simmer for about 15 minutes, stir frequently to avoid the ingredients from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Add the milk you used to cook the cod to the soup. You can also add all the cod, lightly shredded (for a full flavour cod fanesca) or just a small amount for a more mild fanesca. If just adding a little of the cod, save the rest for later, then fry it and serve a little with each bowl of soup.
At this point you want to taste the soup and add salt if needed, how much you need will depend on the whether you add the salt cod to the soup or not (as well as how well you soaked and rinsed the cod). Keep in mind that you will be adding salty queso fresco (or feta) at the end so don’t over-salt the soup.
Add the blended milk and peanut mix to the fanesca soup, cook for another 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
About 5 to 10 minutes before serving, add the chochos (lupini beans), the cream and the cheeses, stir to help the cheeses dissolve.
Add the chopped coriander or parsley and stir well. Taste and add additional salt and pepper if needed.
Serve the fanesca with the shredded or small pieces of fried salt cod (unless they were already added to the soup), hard-boiled egg slices, lime marinated white onions, fried ripe plantains, slices of queso fresco, fried cheese empanadas, avocado slices or cubes, and Ecuadorian hot sauce or slices of hot peppers.
These can be added on top of the soup or served on the side.
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