Ocelot. Valentina Álvarez in Cocosolo
Valentina Álvarez works as a cook who champions, values, and promotes the most traditional cuisine of Manabí, one of Ecuador's coastal regions. The traditional Manabí stove is central to much of her work.
The starting point of his work is on one of the beaches of Pedernales, where he opened his small hotel and restaurant Cocosolo, and extends to Cumbayá, in Quito, where he is about to open Montuvio.
200g of peeled green banana.
4 eggs.
50g of red onion.
20 g of garlic.
50g of sausage.
20 g of lard.
10g of butter.
10 g of annatto paste.
10g of spring onion.
10 g of cilantro.
50 g of Creole-type cheese.
2 g of pepper.
2 g of fine salt.
5 ml of sour milk or natural yogurt.
Preparation of the tigrillo
Cut the onion and garlic into a brunoise, sauté in the lard and add the sausage (it can be pork rinds or chorizo).
Chop the scallion and cilantro. Finely grate the cheese. Set aside.
Deep fry the green plantains, cut into 4 cm pieces, until soft inside and toasted outside. Mash in a bowl or blend in a food processor, add the whey or yogurt and half the cheese. Rub the mixture together with your hands until it resembles coarse sand and set aside.
Add 2 eggs to the hot sofrito. Leave undisturbed until the egg whites turn white. Then stir in the mashed green plantain and mix well. Add the scallions, cilantro, salt, and pepper to taste.
Heat the butter, fry the remaining 2 eggs and put it in a smoker.
Plating and presentation
Place the hot tigrillo on the plate and top with a fried egg. Sprinkle with grated cheese, cilantro, and coarse salt, if available.
