Cod and Squash Soup with Legumes (Ecuadoran Fanesca)

Fanesca is a very traditional soup from Ecuador that is steeped in culture, history and flavoured with centuries of tradition. You can think of fanesca in Ecuador as being a lot like Christmas time for the palate and Ecuadorian culture as a whole. This special, rich and relatively complex soup is served only during Holy Week (mid-April), although in recent years, the time frame for this seasonal dish has gradually been widening. At restaurants, many are now able to indulge in fanesca an entire month before it’s typically served at home. Fanesca is prepared with cod, pumpkin, squash and various pulses. It is enriched with cheese and milk.

2 lb dried salted cod
7 onions, finely chopped
8 cloves garlic, chopped
2 lb sambo (white squash, with soft and tender flesh)
1 lb pumpkin
1½ lbs peas, cooked
1 cup yellow lentils, cooked
1 cup chickpeas, cooked
8 cups shelled corn, cooked
2½ cups white beans, cooked
5 cups fava beans, cooked
2 cups lupini beans, cooked
10 green cabbage leaves, cut into very thin strips
1½ cup ground peanuts
1 cup rice, cooked
¾ cup butter
4 qts milk
2 tsp. ground achiote
¾ cup crème fraîche
6 oz cream cheese
1 tsp. chilli powder
2 tsp. cumin
1 small bunch cilantro, chopped
sea salt

To Serve:
sliced hard-boiled egg
fried plantain bananas
cream cheese
strips fresh hot pepper
pickled white onions
empanadas
avocados

The day before, wash the salted cod and let it soak overnight in a large amount of cold water to rid it of excess salt.

Cook the squash and pumpkin in water for 30 minutes and then purée. Add the peas, corn, fava beans, rice, white beans, lentils and chickpeas, all pre-cooked. Mix well and set aside.

In a frying pan, heat the butter over medium heat and sauté the onions and garlic, add the achiote, then the ground peanuts, the spices, and finally the lupini beans.

Pour this mixture into a large pot, add the reserved purée and beans mixture, the cabbage leaves, milk and crème fraîche. Mix well.

Cook covered on low heat for 20 minutes.

Rinse the cod and add to a Dutch oven. Cook gently until it breaks down into small pieces and add it to the previous in the pot. Mix well. Add the cilantro and cook on low heat for 10 minutes.

To thicken the soup, add the cream cheese (or even a little more crème fraîche) just before the last boiling.

Makes 12 servings.