Fanesca

The mouthwatering “fanesca” is the well-known Ecuadorian food, which  is traditionally served once a year, during the week before Easter Sunday, and it is sacred stew, made of, among other ingredients, squash, and a variety of beans, like lentils, and corn. There are 12 different beans, representing the 12 apostles. The components of fanesca and its method of preparation vary regionally, or even from one family to another. It is typically prepared and served only in the week before Easter (Holy Week).

With the primary ingredients being figleaf gourd (sambo), pumpkin (zapallo), and twelve different kinds of beans and grains including chochos (lupines), habas (fava beans), lentils, peas, corn and others, together with bacalao (salt cod) cooked in milk, due to the Catholic religious prohibition against red meat during Holy Week. It is also generally garnished with hard boiled eggs, fried plantains, herbs, parsley, and sometimes empanadas.

The twelve beans represent the twelve apostles of Jesus, and the bacalao is symbolic of Jesus himself.