Banana Ball Soup?

"Tienes aji?" was my catchphrase throughout my trip to Ecuador last year. In every restaurant, I asked if they had hot pepper sauce. It is not that I eat everything spicy, but I do eat things with lots of flavor. Some of the Ecuadorian dishes were delicious; for example, the yapingachos, a fried potato and cheese patty. (Who wouldn't like that?) Overall, I felt that the food I tasted lacked a lot of flavor.

Not long before my trip I had made a Ecuadorian soup and loved it! Not once did I find it listed on a menu in Ecuador.














I even asked in various restaurants if they could prepare it for me. Out of luck throughout my whole trip!

Now that I have a plethora of plantains in my home, I thought it quite time to make that soup ounce again, and this time spice it up to my liking!

Plantain Dumpling Soup

Soup:
2 teaspoons of vegetable oil
1 cup of finely chopped onion
3 1/4 cups of beef broth
2 cups of water
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon of salt
2/3 cup of tomato paste
1 minced jalapeño
2 cups of choclo (or use hominy)
2 ripe plantains, each cut crosswise into 3 pieces
1/2 cup of flour
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups of chopped zucchini
1/2 cup of chopped fresh cilantro

Filling:
1/4 cup of finely chopped onion
1/2 pound of ground beef
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup of beef broth
1 tablespoon of peanut butter

To prepare soup, heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté 5 minutes or until browned. Add beef broth, water, cumin, salt, tomato paste, and chili pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; add hominy and plantains, and simmer 15 minutes or until plantains are tender.

While the soup is simmering, prepare the filling by cooking onion and beef in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Add garlic, and cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in 1/4 cup broth and peanut butter. Bring to a boil; cook 2 minutes or until thick. Set aside.

Remove plantains from soup; let cool slightly. Place plantains in a large bowl; mash with a potato masher until smooth. Add flour to mashed plantains; stir until combined. Add egg; stir until combined. Turn dough out onto a floured surface; knead 3 times. Divide dough into 12 equal portions, shaping each portion into a ball. Working with 1 portion at a time (cover remaining dough to prevent drying), place dough on a floured surface. Flatten; make an indention in center using thumb. Spoon about 1 tablespoon beef mixture into indention. Gather edges to encase filling, pinching to seal. Gently roll, using both hands, to form a ball. Repeat procedure with remaining dough and beef mixture. Add zucchini to the soup and then gently drop balls into simmering broth; cover and cook 10 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro. Serves 6. Adapted from Cooking Light.


Caldo de Bolas

Sopa:
2 cucharitas de aceite
1 taza de cebolla, finamente picada
1 1/2 litros de caldo de carne
1/2 litro de agua
1 cucharita de comino
1/4 cucharita de sal
2/3 taza de pasta de tomate
1 aji limo, finamente picado
2 tazas de choclo
2 paltanos bellacos, cada uno cortado en 3 pedazos
1/2 taza de harina
1 huevo
1 1/2 tazas de zapallitos italiano, en cubitos
1/2 taza de culantro picado

Relleno:
1/4 taza de cebolla, finamente picada
1/4 kilo de carne molida
1 cucharita de ajo molido
1/4 taza de caldo de carne
1 cucharada de mantequilla de mani

Para preparar la sopa, caliente el aceite en una olla grande. Agrege cebolla y cocine por 5 minutos o hasta que este dorado. Agrege caldo de carne, agua, comino, sal, pasta de tomate y aji; lleva a hervir. Baja el fuego, agrege choclo y platanos y dejes cocinar por 15 minutos o hasta que los platanos esten suaves.

Mientras que la sopa esta cocinando, prepare el relleno. Cocine la cebolla y carne molida en un sarten hasta que la carne este cocida. Agregue el ajo y cocine 5 minutos mas. Agrege caldo y mantequilla de mani. Haz hervir cocinando 2 minutos y apague.

Saques los platanos de la sopa, ponga en un tazon y dejalos enfriar un poco. Aplaste los platanos hasta que esten suaves. Agregue harina, moviendo para combinar. Agregue el huevo, moviendo para combinar. Ponga la masa en un superficio con harina; amase 3 veces. Divide la masa en 12 porciones. Trabaje con una porcion a la vez y tapa los demas para que no se sequen. Ponga una porcion en el superficio con harina. Aplane y ponga una cuchara del relleno en el medio. Forma una bola, asegurando que el relleno no puede salir. Repite con el resto de la masa y el relleno. Agregue a la sopa el zapallito y despues las bolas; tapa y cocina 10 minutos mas con fuego lento. Cubre con culantro. 6 porciones.