Ingredients
Mote
- 600 gcooked mote, hominy, drained
Refrito
- 3 tbspbutter or lard
- 1onion, finely chopped
- 4spring onions, sliced
- 3 clovesgarlic
- 1 tspground achiote or annatto
- 1 tspground cumin
- salt
To bind
- 4eggs, beaten
- 150 mlwhole milk or cream
To finish
- coriander, chopped
- black pepper
To serve
- café de olla or fresh cheese
- avocado
Directions
- Cook it until the grains have split and flowered open. Drain the mote well and pat it dry. Wet mote steams in the pan instead of frying, and the dish goes soggy.
- Melt the butter in a wide pan and cook the onion and spring onion slowly for 8 minutes until soft and sweet.
- Add the garlic, achiote and cumin and fry 30 seconds. Achiote is for the warm orange colour more than for flavour, and it is what makes the finished dish look right.
- Add the drained mote and turn it in the refrito until every kernel is coated and heated through, about 5 minutes.
- Season the mote now, before the eggs go in, because seasoning added afterwards sits on the surface. Beat the eggs with the milk and a pinch of salt.
- Turn the heat down low, pour the egg mixture over the mote and stir gently and constantly. This is a scramble and the eggs should set into soft curds clinging to the grains, not into a firm omelette.
- Take it off the heat while the eggs still look slightly underdone and glossy. Cooked until dry in the pan, the eggs go rubbery and the dish loses its creaminess. Stir in the coriander and plenty of black pepper.
Technique
- It is served alongside roast pork, hornado, at Cuenca markets.
- Cooked mote freezes well in portions.
- Some households use only egg and no milk, which is drier and equally traditional.
Substitutions
- Tinned hominy, drained and rinsed.
- Cream in place of milk, which is richer.
Variations
- Mote sucio, cooked with pork blood and fat.
- With crumbled fresh cheese folded through.
- Mote pata, the soup version eaten at Carnival.
History
A dish of Azuay province built on mote, the nixtamalised maize that anchors cooking in Ecuador’s southern highlands.
Frequently asked questions
What is Mote pillo?
Mote pillo is a salad & side from Ecuador: hominy corn scrambled with egg, onion and milk, from Cuenca. A dish of Azuay province built on mote, the nixtamalised maize that anchors cooking in Ecuador’s southern highlands.
How long does Mote pillo take to make?
Mote pillo takes 15 min of preparation and 20 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Mote pillo?
Yes, within limits. Tinned hominy, drained and rinsed. Cream in place of milk, which is richer.
What is the most important thing to get right in Mote pillo?
Cook it until the grains have split and flowered open. Drain the mote well and pat it dry. Wet mote steams in the pan instead of frying, and the dish goes soggy.
