Fanesca
Calvin Trillin wrote a wonderful article in the September 5, 2005 New Yorker titled "Speaking of Soup," about an Ecuadorian specialty called fanesca. It's an "exceedingly thick and hearty soup, heavy on the beans," and available only at Eastertime, he wrote:
http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/09/05/050905fa_fact
Trillin found it in Cuenca, "a graceful colonial city in the part of the Andes that Ecuadorans call the Southern Highlands," but last spring, on a walk along the 7 line from Corona to Sunnyside, I saw the word "fanesca," usually in a rainbow of neon markers, emblazoned on at least 20 store windows.
I eventually enjoyed fanesca at Guagua Pichincha, in Sunnyside, but I had nothing to judge it against:
http://www.eatingintranslation.com/20...
Short of a visit to a private home, can anyone recommend a particularly good version of fanesca in New York?
DaveCook
Mar 14, 2007 10:48AM
I don't have the answer to your question; however, I do have some suggestions.
As you know from the NYer article, Fanesca is a dish that's typically eaten during Holy Week. Last year I noticed at least a couple of Ecuadorian restaurants in Jackson Heights were offering the dish around that time of the year. I did not try them, so I don't know if they're good. Since you now have at least one point of comparison, given your experience at the Sunnyside restaurant, you may want to try a different place this year. I'm trying to remember the names of the restaurants where I saw it offered, and I'm sure Barzola (92-12 37th Avenue) was one of them. I can't remember for sure which was the other place that had it, but it may have been "La Picada Azuaya."
There are other Ecuadorian restaurants in Roosevelt Avenue that may add the dish to their menu during Holy Week; however, I don't recommend them since every time I have gone inside one of them there is some sort of mystery odor which is extremelly unappeling to me.
Two caveats though, at Barzola be prepared to put up with raunchy music videos played over and over at the giant tv-screens; at Picada bring ear plugs because the music can leave you deaf sometimes. But at those two places you can eat your food odor-free so that's a big plus in my book.
Good luck in your search.
--M
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Thanks. Picada Azuaya was nice enough, but Guagua Pichincha still has the edge.
http://www.eatingintranslation.com/20...
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I recently passed by an Ecuadorian restaurant named Braulios, located in Woodside, on or near 65th Street, right off Roosevelt. They have been offering Fanesca this week. Haven't tried it myself, but have read some favorable reviews on the place overall.
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I read you post about your experince at Picada.
The fanesca is a soup, not a stew. Therefore the consistency though traditionally thick should still be clearly dicernable as a soup.
In the old days fanesca was all you ate during "Holly Week." It was always served by itself, no rice nor other side dishes were included.
I never heard about the grains representing the twelf apostles, but I do know that the ingredient list in the traditional recipe included habas, alberjon, chochos, choclo, etc. all of which should be soft but not mushy (the result of a long, low-flame cooking process) It shouldn't have any vegetables or tubers (some recipes I have seen online at places such as About.com call for zucchini, and green beans which is just bizarre) The other main ingredient of fanesca is salted cod.
The dish has a very distinct flavor and IMO it's an acquired taste. I had mine at Barzola. The fanesca featured shrimp and crab among the ingredients; none of which are part of any sort of traditional fanesca recipe. All that said, I think the shrimp and crab may have been added at the end, after the cooking process was completed, since there was no discernable crab or shrimp taste in the fanesca itself. The flavor itself was authentic enough as I remembered it from back home--despite the weird additions. My fanesca was garnished with chopped cilantro, which is also a new twist; however, since I like cilantro it was a good addition in my opinion.
I think all the recipe variations in the restaurant offerings may be perhaps an attempt to make the dish more appealing to non-Ecuadorians--otherwise I have no explanation for the crab/shrimp fanesca I had, and the stew-like version you tried.
Until next year when I should try a different restaurant's version.
--M
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