30 minutes 
4 portions
Soups are a traditional dish always present in Ecuadorian cuisine. Many people would say that if their meal doesn’t come with soup, it’s almost like not having a meal at all. They integrate a variety of ingredients, textures, consistencies, colours and flavours and are a great start of your culinary experience. People take their time to prepare these staple dishes by incorporating fresh ingredients and making their own broth. The good news is that there are different levels of complexity depending on the style of recipe you choose. In this particular Minestrone, which is a family recipe, we recommend using dry lentils, carrots, white cabbage and tomato. Spices such as cumin and herbs like cilantro provide an exquisite aroma and flavour, which are very hard to resist. Bon Appétit!
Ingredients
½ cup of dry lentils
2 leaves of a white cabbage chopped
1 carrot diced
4 small potatoes peeled and cut in cubes
¼ cup of farfalle pasta
2 beef rib bones (for the broth)
1 small tomato diced
½ red onion finely chopped
½ green pepper cut in small cubes
2 garlic cloves crushed
1 tbsp. of cilantro finely chopped
1 tbsp. of achiote paste (optional)
olive oil
salt, pepper and cumin to taste
Instructions:
Put the beef rib bones in boiling water until the meat is cooked. In another pot place the dry lentils cover them in water and cook until they are soft. Add the white cabbage and carrots to the beef broth and cook for 15 minutes. Then add the potatoes and pasta and a refrito made by sauteing garlic, onion, pepper, tomato and cilantro in olive oil and achiote paste, if you are using. Continue cooking, ensuring there is enough liquid in the soup (you can add a couple of cups of boiling water if necessary). To finish, add the cooked lentils to the soup and season to taste with salt, pepper and cumin. Leave it simmering for 15 minutes. Serve hot.
Do not have enough time? Try making this soup the night before or use a slow cooker.