Highland Recipes

Highland Ecuadorian cuisine from the Andean sierra features hearty dishes suited to cool mountain elevations. Llapingachos (cheese-stuffed potato cakes), locro de papa (creamy potato soup with cheese and avocado), and hornado (crispy whole roasted pig) are signature preparations. Mote (hominy), quinoa, and habas (fava beans) are staple ingredients. Fanesca, an elaborate grain and fish soup, is prepared exclusively during Semana Santa and is considered Ecuador's most complex dish.