Ecuador Food Project by: Nico Prickett Ecuador has a lot of good foods but this is one of my favorites!!

This is a picture of Ecuador, if you cannot tell it is located in South America

This is a potatoes and cheese soup. The main ingredients is potatoes, cheese and avocadoes. Sounds delicious!!!

What ingredients you will need to make this awesome soup.  1 onion, chopped 3 garlic cloves, crushed 1/2 tsp cumin 1 tsp ground annato/achiote 3 giant baking potatoes, peeled and cubed (each about 6″ long) 2 cups of milk enough water to cover the potatoes 1-3 cups extra milk for thinning to desired consistency salt & pepper 1 cup shredded cheese – cheddar or Monterey jack a palmful of chopped cilantro  For the Garnish:  chopped cilantro crumbled queso blanco 1-2 avocados, cubed green onion, sliced

How the dish is prepared  First, cook the chopped onions in a large pot until softened  While they’re cooking, add in the crushed garlic cumin, and ground annato  Next, cube up the potatoes and add to the pot. Size doesn’t matter because they’ll be pureed. Just remember, the larger you cut them, the longer they’ll take to cook.  Add 2 cups of milk and cover with water.

How the dish is prepared  Simmer until the potatoes are cooked through. Then puree with extra milk, salt and pepper. I used my handy, dandy immersion blender. You could also use a plain old blender, but you’ll probably have to do it in a few batches.  Add enough milk to thin out the soup – it should pour out of the ladle – no plopping soup allowed  You’re almost done! Stir in chopped cilantro and shredded cheese.  Top with the most wonderful combination of queso blanco, avocado, green onion, and cilantro.

Interesting facts about Ecuador  Fact 1: The official currency in Ecuador is the U.S dollar since 2001.The currency that was used before adapting to the US Dollar was called Sucre.  Fact 2: The colors of the flag is yellow for the diversity in the country, blue for the sky and the sea, and red for the blood of those who fought for independence.  Fact 3: Ecuador was the first nation in 2008 to declare that nature has constitutional rights.  Fact 4: 95% of Ecuador's population is Roman Catholic and the other 5% is made up of members of various other religions  Fact 5: The capital of Ecuador is Quito which has the second highest population in the country.

Giving credit  about.com/Ecuador/id/87 about.com/Ecuador/id/87  om/