My name is Layla Pujol, my family and friends call me Laylita. I was born in Vilcabamba, Ecuador and currently live in Seattle, WA with my two awesome kids, Alex & Marc. 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!).
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My approach to cooking and general instructions for using this site
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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
I’ve made your empanada dough several times now and it never fails! I’ve really enjoyed trying several different fillings – my favorite being a Balti beef. I make them for my husband to take for lunch and they are as good as any we have purchased locally (we have some great ones in Missoula). Thanks for such a great dough recipe!
I too am Ecuadorian and live in Seattle. So exciting to find the empanadas recipe! Can’t wait to try it out :) Thank you for sharing!
Hi Layla,
I’m Ecuadorian, Cuban and Cape Verdean, but I was born in Massachusetts. I love your recipes!! I cannot wait to share them with my grandfather, who is from Ecuador, too.
Hi! We recently had in ecuador a thing for breakfast that I loved and thought you might know the exact recipe. It was flour, egg, smashed banana, a little sugar and some cheese deep fried. Do you know it?
Hi Megan – It sound like emborrajados, they can be made with plantains or bananas. I don’t have the recipe posted, but it’s simply ripe bananas (raw if using ripe bananas – but if using plantains they are sometimes pre-fried), a slice of cheese layered in between, dipped in a simple batter, and fried until golden.
Hi Laylita love your website i wanted to know will you make a recipe for muchin my grandmother brought some with her i love it my grandmother is no longer with us but i really love muchin
Hi Laylita, I am so happy to
Have found your site. I live in North Bellmore, NY but I was born in Ecuador. I never learned how to cook Ecuadorian food because my mom became a hemipeligic and couldn’t speak about the time I got married and interested in cooking. She was
Never able to teach me. I have tried recipe books, one written by a family member, but the Spanish and ingredients became a problem. She was funny, she used the brand name instead of what the product actually was. Example: cubo Maggi. Anyway, thank you for the site. I am Having a dinner party tomorrow and I’m making hornado and lapingachos. Wish me luck!
Layla, just want to say your website is fantastic!!!
im ozzy and im dating a Ecuadorean girl and this has helped me so much to try surprise her with Ecuadorean cooking!!! there is no Ecuadorean resturants at all in Australia where we live so this is awesome!! i can not thank you enough for making a site and converting recipes into english as well , thank you :o)
Hello Laylita, I love your recipies. Do you know what I might use instead of tomates de arbol to make one of these tasty salsas? Thanks :)
Hi Sam – If you can find passion fruit juice (fresh or frozen), this one is really good: https://www.laylita.com/recipes/passion-fruit-hot-sauce/ – and you could also replace the passion fruit with mango if you can’t find passion fruit juice.
Is it possible to make the masa for Pan de Yuca ahead of time, to bake them elsewhere?
Yes, you can even freeze them if needed and just bake when needed.
I was simply looking for a crepe recipe and came across your site. Everything looks amazing and you did a wonderful job with the instructions and comments so that even I am comfortable trying them out. Kudos.
P.S. although I have been in Texas since the end of 08, I was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest. What you are getting to do with your family is only a dream to me. Best wishes. I can’t wait to get your recipe book.