Ecuadorian beef skewers & potato pancakes

Ecuadorian beef skewers & potato pancakes (Carne en Palito with Llapingachos) are wonderfully delicious and scrumptious street foods from Ecuador! You are going to love the bright flavors and spices of these treats that present so well with the added fresh salsa, and delicious sauces.

Song of the day: Ecuador - Sash!

This month we are in Ecuador!

We have missed out on our travels with the Eat the world group. Furthermore, I said to Nicoletta we need to get back into it and she told me that this month it was going to be Ecuador. I was really excited. When I was researching the different traditional recipes, I was really pulled into the street food of this beautiful country. In particular I found it hard to decide between two and so I did both, Beef Skewers & Potato Pancakes (Carne en palito with Llapingachos). Come let's take the journey into Ecuadorian cuisine together, it is going to be a lot of fun!

Why would you want to experience these Ecuadorian beef skewers & potato pancakes?

Well, for one thing, some of the things you will need to find at a Latin grocery store. Some of the main seasonings are Goya seasoning, and achiote powder. I travelled to this little quaint grocery store tucked away in a residential area. It is there that I found these seasonings and spices, that I know you are going to love. Doing these cultural recipes gives you the opportunity to meet lovely people. I had a great conversation with the owner of La Tienda de Pacifico who asked me what I was making. When I told her, she gave me a thumbs up and wished me lots of good luck! Now I am super excited to share what I have made: Ecuadorian beef skewers & potato pancakes!

Ingredients for Ecuadorian beef skewers & potato pancakes:

By all means, this array of dishes may seem complex and complicated but it is all about organization and timing. I am going to break it down for you:

Carne en palito:

• thinly sliced beef, asada style (Rouladen)
• squeezed orange juice
• vegetable oil
• garlic, minced
• achiote powder or paste
• cumin powder
• dash of salt and pepper

Onion and tomato curtido salsa:

• purple onion, sliced
• cherry tomatoes, halved
• juice of two limes or lemon
• olive oil or avocado oil
• chopped cilantro
• salt to taste

Potato pancakes:

• Yukon gold potatoes
• onion
• Friulano cheese
• Queso fresco
• Goya seasoning
• ground cumin
• achiote powder or paste
• salt to taste
• vegetable oil divided
• all-purpose flour

Salsa de mani:

• peanut butter
• whole milk
• thinly sliced white onion
• chopped cilantro
• peanut oil
• ground cumin
• achiote powder or paste
• hard boiled egg finely chopped (optional)
• jalapeno or aji pepper finely chopped (optional)
• salt to taste

Gather the ingredients, time to get cooking!

Truly, this is the absolute fun part. Time to get into the kitchen. I start by organizing all my ingredients according to recipe. This way it will be easier to manage the time and cooking of these lovely Ecuadorian beef skewers & potato pancakes. Let's start by marinating our beef. This is what we will need to do:

• Firstly, in a small bowl, mix orange juice, achiote powder, oil, cumin, garlic. Give it a good whisk and set aside.
• Secondly, take fillets of beef and cut them lengthwise into 1 ½ inch wide strips. Season with salt and pepper, and place into a medium size bowl.
• Lastly, give marinade another stir and pour over the beef strips. Massage the marinade into the meat making sure every piece is covered with the mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge for at least 2 hours. You can even marinate overnight. Remember to soak your bamboo skewers too for at least a couple of hours.

Salsa Time!

• Toss onions in a medium bowl, sprinkle in the 1 tablespoon salt and rub into the slivers of onions. Cover the onions with cold water and rinse well. Drain onions and place in a clean bowl.
• Add the lime juice or lemon juice, whichever you have, and toss with the onions. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 10 minutes or until onions turn a pinkish color.
• At this point throw in the tomatoes and chopped cilantro, drizzle in the oil, and seson with salt to taste. Give it a good toss and set aside covered with plastic wrap. If not using right away, place in the fridge.

Making the potatoes for this Ecuadorian beef skewer & potato pancakes!

I love how Latin cusine has so many sauces and salsas to combine with the food. This Curito salsa is no exception:

• Rinse potatoes, leave skin on, and place in a steamer basket. Fill pot with water ⅔ way from the top, place steamer basket in.
• Bring water to a boil over medium heat then cover pot with lid and steam for 20-30 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender. You may need to add more water as it dissipates, so check often.
• Remove potatoes, cut in half and let cool to the point that they can be handled.
• Heat 1-2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil in a sauté pan, and cook for 3-4 minutes until soft. Add Goya, cumin, achiote powder or paste. Give it a good stir and cook for a couple more minutes. Take off heat and set aside.
• Peel the skin off of the potatoes and run them through a potato ricer, or mash them with a potato masher in a bowl.
• Next, add the sautéed seasoned onions, and grated/crumbled cheese, and give the mixture a good stir until all ingredients are balanced and well blended. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• The potato mixture should be firm enough to form a ball, if it is too wet and sloppy add some of the flour and mix again until you get a dough consistency.
• Once you have the ball formed in the palm of your hands, press it down to form the pancake, but do it gently. Dust both sides with flour and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. The patties should be about 3 inches in diameter and about ½ inch thick.
• Heat up oil in a heavy skillet just enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan and ⅛ inch deep. Place patties in the oil and cook till golden brown, then flip over and do the same for the other side. Place the cooked potato pancakes on a paper towel lined dish or baking sheet. Note: cook the patties in batches as to not overcrowd the pan.

One incredible peanut sauce (salsa de mani)!

When I first saw peanut sauce I was thinking satay. However, when I looked at the ingredients I said to myself this is one bomb of a side sauce for these Llapingachos! This is how you roll with this salsa de mani:

1. In a bowl mix the peanut butter with half the milk and mix until somewhat dissolved.
2. Heat the peanut oil in a sauté pan. Add the onions and cook for a few minutes. Sprinkle in the cumin, achiote, and salt to taste. Stir well, then add in the peanut butter mixture, along with the rest of the milk.
3. Cook for 10 minutes on low heat then, if using, add the peppers, and chopped egg. Give it another good stir, take off heat, and sprinkle in chopped cilantro. 
4. Serve the potato pancake with a nice spoon of the peanut sauce.

Get that grill hot, time to grill these Ecuadorian beef skewers!

• Pre-heat grill to around 500° F. Take beef out of fridge and place beef slivers onto the skewers, stretching the meat nicely over the length of the skewer. Continue this until all the beef is done.
• Oil grill then place skewers onto the grill. Cook for about one minute, then move them 45 degrees to create the beautiful grill marks. Turn over and do the same for the other side. Take off grill. Serve with the onion and tomato Curito salsa.

Our Ecudorian beef skewers & potato pancakes are done, time to eat!

Everything looks so lovely. The nice grill marks and juiciness of the skewers with that incredibly colorful onion and tomato salsa. Then there's the golden brown color on the Llapingachos with that bodacious rich velvety creamy salsa de mani. I just can't wait to dig in!

Wow! First the beef, tender, juicy and love how that citrus and sweetness of the orange comes through. Then out of nowhere the taste buds are swept by the smokiness of the achiote and spiciness of the cumin. I love how the onion and tomato curido salsa just brightens every note of that seasoned beef and that char offers some pretty lovely caramelization!

Let's talk billowy, spicy, and crispy!

In the end, these potato pancakes are just out of this world good. I love that there is this crispiness on the outside that leads you into a soft creamy middle. The cheese holds everything so well and gives so much richness to this patty. Then there are those caramelized onions and that sweetness combined with the earthy curry backdrop of the cumin. What I really love and has become a favorite thing is this achiote. Sweet, smoky, but in the most gentle way. It just takes these pancakes to a whole new level for me!

Options

If making all the dishes seem like a lot, you can choose to make only what you wish. I have divided the steps so it is easier if you want, for example, to try only the beef skewers, or the potato pancakes, or one of the sauces.

Thanks for joining me in the kitchen today and experiencing the virtual cooking journey into Ecuador with these Ecuadorian beef skewers & potato pancakes.

Take a look at all the other wonderful Ecuadorian recipes that our fellow bloggers have made in our quest to Eat the World and share with #eattheworld. Click here to find out how to join and have fun exploring a country a month in the kitchen with us!

Amy’s Cooking Adventures: Ecuadorian Lentil Stew with Rice (Arroz con Menestra de Lentejas)
Magical Ingredients: Tortillas de Verde
A Day in the Life on the Farm: Fritada de Chancho
Sneha’s Recipe: Come y Bebe (Ecuadorian Fruit Salad)
Pandemonium Noshery: Fritada - Ecuadorian Pork
Kitchen Frau: Pescado Encocado (Fish in Coconut Sauce)
Sugarlovespices (us!): Ecuadorian beef skewers & potato pancakes

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