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Published: March 9th 2023
While I was visiting Dave and Merry Jo in Florida last October, we agreed that we wanted to take an Ecuadorian cooking class. After some online research, we found the Traveling Spoon, and booked a class for our last night in Quito, which was today. We only had a couple of hours in between the mad taxi ride from the Mitad Del Mundo, and the taxi to our class which meant we were still on the go. Not a down moment this trip so far. Since Quito is so large, it required at least an hour or so to reach the class, where we were to meet in front of a local pharmacy. We made it with plenty of time and stood and waited. And waited. By15 minutes past the arranged time, we were concerned that either we were in the wrong place, or that Maria, the instructor was late. Merry Jo called her only to discover that we were a month early. Somehow I had booked the class for Thursday March 23, not Thursday February 23. Bless her heart, I heard Merry Jo ask if there was any way that she could teach us tonight, and the answer was yes.
I couldn’t believe it. Within 5 minutes, her husband picked us up and took us to their house where we met Maria. The fact that Maria was willing to do this class on a moment’s notice and turned out to be the most gracious and fun instructor still amazes me. I don’t often do this, and this is not a paid promotion, but rather something I want to offer up to anyone heading to Ecuador. This is the class that we took, Traditional Ecuadorian Cooking Class in Quito, and I cannot recommend this more highly. Tasting Spoon is what to look for on Trip Advisor, and you will see my review from bvchef2016
Their house is in a gated section of town with nice houses, and a quiet feel. We visited her garden to see a growing tree tomato that we had seen in the Central Market, some fresh herbs and got to know one another. I was still in a ball of stress from having made such a mistake, that it took some time for me to wind down and start to enjoy the class. Our menu was pretty straightforward. Ceviche with fried plantain chips and Plantain Empanada
with fresh Cheese. In reality, we were given a choice of whether we wanted to do empanadas or another dish, and I unceremoniously put my hand over Merry Jo’s mouth, shoved Dave into the laundry room and calmly stated that we would like to make the empanadas. Perhaps it was a touch less dramatic than this, but not much.
Dave was given the task of peeling the green plantain for the empanadas while MJ and I peeled and de-veined shrimp for the ceviche. The more we were with Maria, the more I started to open up and chat. She has cooked professionally both here, and the US. I appreciated her open, friendly approach to the class and enjoyed the act of cooking. As I wrote in a Lisbon blog, sometimes I need to cook just for the fun of it, and to remind me why I do what I do. This was easy and enjoyable and made better by the cocktail we sipped while peeling the shrimp. Once the shrimp were cleaned, we made a court bouillon by simmering the shrimp shells, garlic, tomato, onion and water. After this was finished, we drained it, then poached the shrimp in
this seasoned court bouillon. Merry Jo blended the shells, cooked tomato and onion with the court bouillon in a blender with lime juice, ketchup and mustard. The shrimp, this liquid, some lime marinated onions, tomato and cilantro were added, and there we had it. Ceviche. Meanwhile, Dave’s plantains were boiling in salted water until soft. This version of empanada is new to me, so I was excited to see how they tasted.
I had been shy about the fact that I am a chef. Yes, I trot that bad boy out every chance I get, but at classes, I like to scope out the situation before sharing. When Maria asked what we do for a living, I stuttered a little, turned red and tried to think of what to say before telling the truth. Dave later told me that I should say I am an Actuary in an insurance company because people won’t know what to talk about, so it stops the conversation. But I told the truth, and it was fine. We chatted and I calmed down even more. Either I was really having a relaxing time, or the rum was doing the trick. Food is universal in
that people either like to cook, like to eat, or both. At work I am known for bringing treats and special food to my coworkers who don’t work in the kitchen. Food is love, and this is how I show them how much I appreciate what they do for me.
Back to the task at hand though, those plantain empanadas weren’t going to make themselves. Maria drained the water once they were very soft, and tasked Dave with using a small kitchen mallet to smash them into a starchy dough. Working quickly to keep the smashed “dough” hot, I rolled them into balls and pressed them between plastic on a tortilla press. It shocked me that we didn’t have to add flour, egg or anything to the plantain. They formed a dough with nothing added. I filled them with grated fresh cheese, and did a really terrible job of crimping them closed. Although she didn’t say anything, I felt that Maria knew I had never made these. And that is awesome. If I knew everything, I wouldn’t be working; I would be retired and living on my private island. My mentor Peter told me, and I tell my crew
all the time, “When you’re green you grow, when you’re ripe you rot.” Sure, I am rotten to the core, but in the kitchen, I am still green as can be and love being out in the wild learning new things. In my eyes, these have just become a new gluten free dish as well as a new vegetarian dish that I can put in my recipe arsenal. Win Win baby.
Maria and Dave fried the empanadas in hot oil, Merry Jo dished up and garnished ceviche and I was in the corner stuck trying to peel green plantain. Ugh, they were starchy and had a sticky liquid that stuck to my hands. I should have done a Huckleberry Finn with Merry Jo to see if I could have stuck her with this, but I was kind and took one for the team. Maria used a Japanese mandolin to slice those darn plantain into thin slices that she then fried to a golden, crispy happiness for our ceviche. And just like that, we were done cooking and it was time to sit, relax and enjoy the work that we had just done. This was how we wanted to spend
our last night in Quito, and it was a very wise choice. Next time I will double check the dates before booking, but other than that, I wouldn't change a thing.
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D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
The Answer is No unless you Ask
Dave is always surprised when I ask for something and people say yes. I was hopeful and she agreed to teach us a month early! The plantain empanadas were surprisingly good. I'm glad we learned something new. It's always great being in the kitchen with you and you are fun in cooking classes. ... the alcohol didn't hurt. MJ