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
Hello Laylita,
My daughter is in 5th grade and has chosen Ecuador for her International project. Her grandparents traveled there a few years ago on a mission trip to help build a church in Quito. As part of her project, she is to prepare an authentic dish to share. While researching, we came across your wonderful site with its amazing pictures. My daughter is thinking about preparing your Ecuadorian drinkable fruit salad or perhaps one of your empanada recipes. What recipe would you recommend for a group of fifth graders? There are some picky eaters and a couple of kids with nut allergies in the classroom.
We both love your site and we would greatly appreciate any recommendation you can provide.
Sincerely,
Wendy
Clayton, NC
Hi Wendy – I have a few recommendations based on some of the favorites of my kids and their friends, for empanadas they love the empanadas de viento, which are stuffed with cheese and have a little bit of sugar sprinkled on top (the kids love that part); another favorite is the pan de yuca, which are small breads made from yuca or tapioca starch and cheese; they also really like sweet fried plantains. I’m not so sure about the drinkable fruit salad, my kids love it but I know some kids are picky about fruit. Good luck with the project!
Layla,
Thanks for making an awesome site. I lived in Ecuador for two years and have been back to visit once. I’m dying to have some encebollado and patacones.
I will try to find the ingredients and follow your recipes. Maybe I can convince my wife to make them ;)
Hola Layli!
You cannot imagine how proud I feel of being your friend!!!
Everytime I see your site I get so excited and lots of very nice memories of our beloved Ecuador come to my mind… thank you for the recipes, not only are pictures amazing but the food also tastes sooo delicious!!!
Take care!
Love
Iva
Hola Iva! Thank you for your comments, now I just need to get you to contribute some recipes!
layla do you know how to make espumilla? the real kind the one they sell on the street outside el mercado or colgios. i havent found any good ones.
Hi Connie – Thanks for visiting the site, I love Cuenca, I have great memories of trips there with high school friends! I haven’t made espumillas in so long (since high school actually) but will experiment a little bit and post a recipe one of these days.
layla i love your site! My mother and father are from cuenca, i was born in new york but spent 3 years on and off living in cuenca. i love cuenca so much… and the food is amazing. Everytime i visit your page i get so excited and show the pictures to my boyfriend and end up telling him a long story about how yummy what we are looking at is.
Hola Layla,
Impresionante! Tu sitio web es realmente impresionante… Me encanta la fotografia… Estaba buscando una receta para la masa de empanadas para celebrar el 18 de Septiembre (soy chilena y vivo en Vancouver). Nunca he tenido una buena receta para la masa. Voy a probar la tuya… pero aparte de eso encontre las humitas, que siempre trato de explicar a la gente lo ricas que son. Ahora los puedo mandar a tu pagina y asi pueden ver de que se trata. Beautiful! En realidad es un sitio web con miles de yummy things para probar, me encanto… Felicitaciones! Y gracias…
Cecilia
Hola Cecilia – Gracias por la visita y por el comentario! Tu pagina de pasteleria esta preciosa! Que rico!
Stumbled across your site searching for a churrasco recete! You’ve done an amazing job with the detailed step-by-step instructions and great recipes!! Much appreciated! :)
I’m Peruvian (raised here) my husband is Ecuadorian (raised in Quito,) and we live in Kirkland – so, it was a surprise to read you’re local! He’s a chef, but mostly French cuisine, so I’m excited to surprise him with your postings.
Can’t wait to see what you post next! Saludos!
Hi Saralina – that’s great that you’re local – we need to get together and discuss who makes the best ceviche, Ecuadorians or Peruvians ;)
Hi Layla,
I’m so happy I found a website like yours. I was born in Ecuador and even though my family came to the US when I was a baby, my mom has always kept the Ecuadorian cuisine alive at home! Now that I live on my own, I sometimes crave for mom’s home-cooked meals and thanks to your site, it will definitely help me satisfy those insane cravings like seco de pollo. Thanks again!!
And yes, plantains forever!!
Thanks for a rare and wonderful Ecua-recipe site! Remember – we’re all “American” – North and Central and South!
Plantains forever!
Hello Layla – a quick note to thank you so much for putting together such a great website.
As so many others have commented, your writing style is very accessible and the excellent photographs help to envision what lies ahead in the process of preparing each recipe.
I grew up eating my mother’s Colombian food, and have been fortunate to travel throughout much of Latin America. I came across your site while searching for a recipe for Ecuadoran llapingachos and am excited to have found recipes for so many favorite foods from my travels.
Thank you so much for the time and effort you put into this site. Congratulations, and keep up the good work!
Alan
Cambridge, MA