Mote pillo or Ecuadorian hominy with eggs

Recipe for Ecuadorian mote pillo, this traditional breakfast dish consists of hominy sautéed with onions, garlic, achiote, eggs, milk, chives and cilantro or parsley, and served with hot black coffee and slices of fresh cheese.

Receta en español

Mote pillo is a traditional Ecuadorian dish of hominy corn with scrambled eggs. It is the perfect breakfast or brunch dish, but can also be served as main meal for lunch or a side dish for grilled or roasted meat dishes. Mote pillo is very easy and quick to make: the mote or hominy is sautéed with onions, garlic, achiote, eggs, milk, chives and cilantro or parsley.

Mote pillo is almost always served with hot black coffee and slices of fresh cheese. Mote or hominy is dry corn that has been peeled and then boiled until soft. You can cook the mote or hominy ahead of time, I usually make a large batch and keep some frozen so that it’s easily ready to make this dish.It is very easy to find it already prepared and canned in most grocery stores, usually in the canned vegetable section or in the ethnic section.

This Ecuadorian hominy dish is a traditional dish from the highlands or Sierra region in Ecuador. The city of Cuenca (and the whole province of Azuay) claim this dish as their specialty. My hometown of Loja is a few hours away from Cuenca, so we also eat a lot of mote or hominy in Loja. To me this is really one of the best comfort foods, like many other dishes from the Sierra it warms me up inside when I eat it.

Mote pillo or hominy with eggs

Ecuadorian mote pillo consists of hominy corn sautéed with onions, garlic, achiote, eggs, milk, chives and cilantro or parsley, and served with hot black coffee and slices of fresh cheese

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Course: Breakfast, Brunch, Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: Andean, Ecuadorian, Latin, South American

Keyword: Eggs, Hominy, Hominy with scrambled eggs, Mote pillo

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 1 lb cooked mote or hominy can also use canned hominy
• 2 tbs butter
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup of diced white onion can also use spring onions (white part only) or leeks (white part only)
• 2 garlic cloves crushed
• ¼ tsp ground achiote
• ¼ cup milk
• 2 tbs chopped chives or scallions
• 1 tbs finely chopped cilantro or parsley
• Salt to taste

Serve with:

• Queso fresco slices and black coffee

Instructions

• Heat the butter over medium heat in a large sauté pan, add the chopped onions, crushed garlic, achiote, and salt to make a refrito, cook until the onions/leeks are soft, about 5 minutes.
• Add the mote or hominy, stir in well and cook for another 2 minutes.
• Add the milk and cook until the milk is almost all absorbed by the hominy.
• Whisk the eggs and add them to the hominy, stir well and cook for about 3-5 minutes.
• Stir in the chives and cilantro and add additional salt if needed.
• Serve accompanied by queso fresco slices and hot black coffee.

Preparation photos for Ecuadorian mote pillo or hominy with eggs: