My name is Layla Pujol, my family and friends call me Laylita. I was born in Vilcabamba, Ecuador and currently live in Luxembourg. I spent several years in the US, both in Austin and in Seattle, and our family recently moved to Europe. My recipes are inspired mainly by traditional Ecuadorian dishes that I grew up eating in Ecuador. However, my love of food – and therefore the recipes posted here – go beyond Ecuador and include anything from Latin America, my mom’s spicy New Mexican cooking, my grandmother’s homemade Southwestern dishes and Texas style BBQ, my husband’s (and his family’s) delicious French food, new dishes introduced by my amazing group of international friends, and of course the great variety of seafood, vegetables and fruits available in the Pacific Northwest.
I am currently working on my first cookbook, which will focus on delicious Ecuadorian recipes (adapted to my style, of course!).
The longer version of my story
My approach to cooking and general instructions for using this site
Additional contact information
Photo and content use
Recipe development, product reviews, disclosure, and advertising
Privacy policy
If you have any questions or comments you can leave them in the comment section, or you can email me directly layla at laylita dot com
Nancy,
If you go to Quito, you should try fruits. I recommend those that you call “exotic”. You may not like some flavours but the “adeventure” is not expensive (Try to buy at the ‘Supermaxi’, mercado La Carolina’ or ‘Santa Clara’). Also try to remember Ecuador has well defined regions and it is not a developed country. You can find good seefood in Quito but it is always better near the beach, where it is fresh, sometimes cheaper and people have local “secret recipes”. In Quito you might like to try all types of grains like corn (mote, choclo, tostoado,…), habas, arvejas, chochos,… Meat (from cows) is not the best in Ecuador, there are some exceptions but the geography does not allow too much. Porc and fish are a good alternative (I am thinking about “hornado” and “fritada”). “Empanadas” and “tortillas” of all kind worth tasting.
You asked about specific recipes. Truth is that you can enter few touristic restaurants and the recipes would be the same. In fact they are made for tourist: flavours might be new but not too strong; and somehow they will not represent what ecuadorians eat. If you where a friend I was guiding, I would “abuse” of you politeness to make you eat “caldo de salchicha” which is not nice to the eye but tastes wonderfully. It goes the same for everything; “mango” is eaten green and with salt while “aguacate” is eaten with sugar… Don’t try anything with “plátano” (plantain) in la Sierra (the mountains); it could taste good but it becomes an insult when you have eaten the same at “La Costa” where it is fresh and they are very demanding (Plantain is much cheaper in “la costa” and there are the tasty varieties, not only the good-looking and flavourless “barraganete”)
You will always make a mistake if you buy bread in any market or supermarket. The mistake will be smaller if you buy bread at “Cyrano”, “La Canasta” or “Baguette”. Small bakeries offer the best bread. You should also try icecream. However, there is no special place to recommend (The best way to get a good icecream is to avoid brand names and flirt with someone, that someone usually knows the best nearest place… for an icecream).
If you become nostalgic, Kentucky and Domino’s are the best franchises in Quito.
Hola Layla,
I was searching for South American recipes and came across your site. I love it! Well done. I’m also a Latina living in Seattle and can’t wait to try out some of your recipes next time I get homesick.
Thank you,
Nina
I am from Ecuador too but i left when I was very little and I never got the chance to learn about real Ecuadorian cooking. Now I am married and am anxious to have my husband try Ecuadorian cooking. Thank you for your website, it’s really great. It’s the best one I have found. :)
Layla,
I came to your website accidentally looking for a stew recipe for some goat meat we had in the freezer. I had already begun a lamb stew type recipe when Google led me here.
I immediately went into an Ecuadorean modification mode, adding cumin, beer, mustard, chili powder and ground corriander. It’s an experiment but the aromas coming forth tell me that its going to work out OK. We’ll see if my hybrid hits the mark.
BTW, Toula and I visited a small town in South Baja, MX where we bought a couple of sweet Empanadas containing a chocolate filling made from concentrated milk. They were excellent but we have never managed to find anything like them in the US (So. CA). Do you have any recipes for same?
Niles
Hi Laylita,
I was searching for Ecuadorian recipes and came across your site! It is wonderful! The great recipes, photos, narratives and stories are so enjoyable. A colleague and I are leading a group of 11 education and social work students from our university to Quito, Ecuador during our spring break in a couple weeks. We wanted to have a dinner with some Ecuadorian dishes and since I have never been there or eaten the food….was wondering what you might suggest? Having looked at your site, I was thinking….potato and cheese soup, either seafood rice or chicken fried rice, fresh asparagus, a fresh salad, and either mango or blood orange sorbet or your drinkable fruit salad for dessert. What do you think? Any suggestions? A couple who have been to Ecuador and are coming to talk to the students about their experiences, are preparing plantains but I’m not sure how they will be prepared. Thanks for any help you can give!
Nancy
Hola desde Canada,
Quiero felicitarte xq tu pagina me encanta, honestamente soy un poco peresoza en seguir recetas, pero con el atractivo de las fotos de tus platos paso a paso y lo sencillo de tu explicacion, me acomodo perfecto! Hace rato pensaba…q pena q no vivamos en la misma ciudad sino iria al restaurante q pongas tu jeje.
Cada q hago una receta tuya mi meta es q x lo menos lusca como la de tu foto.
Saludos,
Lili
Laylita, felicitaciones por tan magnifico web, gracias por comparatir tus recetas y permitirnos revivir nuestra gastronomia. Como ecuatoriana me siento orgullosa de contar con un sitio tan completo que enaltece a nuestro bello pais. Gracias!!!!
I love this website.
Its well done, its the GREATEST EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hello Dear Layla,
Any recipe for Quimbolito?
Jimenez
I hope to have it posted later this year
Love, love, love this website. Its a nice combo of traditional Ecuadorian cuisine with a modern flare. Saw a post referring to your website on Skinny Taste while looking for a quinoa recipe. I am so glad to have stumbled onto to you. Looking forward to your future posts.