Destination
Cuenca
The story
Mote pata is Cuenca's Easter soup, and one of the most emblematic dishes of southern Sierra Ecuador. Cooked hominy corn (mote) simmered slowly with pork ribs, longaniza sausage, onion, garlic and a thick paste of ground pumpkin seeds (pepa de zambo) that thickens the broth into something halfway between a soup and a stew. Traditionally eaten during Semana Santa (Holy Week), especially on Good Friday, when Cuenca's kitchens turn out huge pots of it for family gatherings.
Method
Warm a dry pan over medium heat. Toast the pumpkin seeds, stirring often, for 3 to 5 minutes until deep gold and fragrant (some will pop). Watch closely; they burn fast.
Transfer the toasted seeds to a food processor with the milk and garlic. Blend to a thick, smooth paste (about 2 minutes). Set aside.
In a large heavy pot, combine the pork ribs, quartered onion, garlic, spring onions, salt, cumin, achiote, bay leaf and cold water. Bring to a simmer, skim any foam, and cook 45 minutes until the pork is tender.
Add the cooked mote and the sliced longaniza. Simmer another 30 minutes to develop flavour.
Ladle a cup of the hot broth into the reserved pumpkin-seed paste and whisk to combine (this stops the paste from splitting when added to the pot). Pour the mixture back into the soup, stirring well.
Cook 20 to 25 minutes more over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the broth is thick, glossy and creamy from the ground seeds. Taste for salt.
Ladle into deep bowls, making sure each serving gets pork ribs, sausage, mote and plenty of broth. Scatter with coriander and spring onion greens. Ají picante at the table.
Tips
- Cooked mote is sold at Latin grocers. Look for it in tubs or bags in the fridge or frozen section. If you can only find dried mote, soak overnight and simmer separately for 90 minutes before adding to the recipe.
- Toast the pumpkin seeds. Raw pumpkin seed paste tastes grassy and thin. Toasting for 3 to 5 minutes until deep gold transforms the flavour into the nutty, savoury note that makes mote pata unique.
- Temper the paste before adding it to the pot. Whisking a ladle of hot broth into the paste first stops it from splitting into an oily mess when it hits the pot. Don't skip this step.
- The soup thickens as it sits. Right off the heat it can look thinner than you want; give it 10 minutes and it firms up. If it thickens too much when serving leftovers, thin with a splash of hot water or milk.
- A Cuenca Easter dish. It's traditionally made for Semana Santa but tastes just as good any time of year. Make in a big batch (it feeds a crowd) and freeze leftovers.
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