Cocolón: Meeting Rafa Hernández, who highlights Ecuadorian cuisine

This time we have as a guest on the menu of the week a colleague who stands out in local cuisine. Rafael Hernández is an Ecuadorian chef who preserves the neatness, order and refinement of French cuisine, not for nothing did he have his final training at the famous Paul Bocuse in Lyon, one of the best schools in Europe.

And it is precisely this training that is evident in the cuisine that he presents us at the Le Huec restaurant, a proposal for traditional Ecuadorian cuisine, but which entails a touch of refinement in its presentation and concept without making us forget the flavors and textures. criollas that we like so much

And this is how little by little we are building the evolution of our cuisine, maintaining its recipes, products, adapting them to modern trends and sharing them with the new generations.

I share a bit of our friend’s trajectory and his menu for this week in cocolón, enjoy it.

Why did you become interested in cooking or what was your motivation?

At the age of 17 I decided to study gastronomy. With the support of my parents, I entered the Universidad San Francisco de Quito where I successfully completed my degree in Culinary Art, I did my internships at Wequassette Resort and Golf Club, located in Massachusetts, U.S. Time after I had the opportunity to do a diploma at the Paul Bocuse Institute in Lyon – France.

At the end of my studies I had the opportunity to come to the city of Guayaquil as a Sous chef at the Wyndham Guayaquil Hotel, then I was executive chef at the Radisson Guayaquil Hotel and later Gastronomic Coordinator at the Technological Institute La Escuela de los Chefs.

I am currently part of a gastronomic project together with Ramón Echaiz and Karin Nurmberg, this is called Le Huec, a restaurant located in the Piazza de Samborondón next to the renowned Ramón Carne al Carbón restaurant. I run these two establishments and I also carry out gastronomic consultancies for companies and entrepreneurs.

I chose this great profession, I represent it in the best possible way in the pillars of professionalism, discipline and quality.

What is the most important thing about a dish or product?

That it complies with the principles of food safety, has an exquisite flavor and an excellent presentation. Make something typical out of something epic.

Who has influenced your cooking style or philosophy?

Paul Bocuse, the most important chef in the new kitchen from France, his passion for the importance of cooking with seasonal products, always choosing the best raw material, seeking a balance between fresh, delicious products that do not lose their value due to being poorly cooked or handled.

¿What does Ecuadorian cuisine mean to you?

It is the challenge of every Ecuadorian chef, to learn it, to master it, respecting our origins, to catapult it internationally, showing our gastronomic culture and promoting gastronomic tourism.

What ingredients can’t you get out of your kitchen?

Fresh products, in Ecuadorian cuisine achiote, roasted cumin, fresh garlic, coriander and butter of excellent quality will always be present.

Barbara de Maduro recipe

Ripe croquette with prieta salt stuffed with dry pork and fresh bread crust

Ingredients:

For the filling:

• 1/2 pound of pork cut into cubes
• 2 tablespoons achiote oil
• 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
• 1 teaspoon finely minced minced garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped coriander
• 1 finely chopped tomato
• 1/2 green pepper finely chopped
• Salt, cumin and pepper to taste

For the mass

• 2 ripe bananas
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoons of brown salt.
• Shall

For the coverage:

• 1 cup of flour
• 2 beaten eggs
• 1 cup of fresh breadcrumbs

Process

1. Make a rehash with the achiote oil, tomato, onion, pepper, garlic, cumin, salt and pepper.
2. Place the pork and let it boil for 35 minutes over low heat.
3. Shred the pork.
4. Cook the bananas, crush them and make a homogeneous mass.
5. Place the filling in the ripe dough
6. Pass them through flour, then through beaten egg and pando.
7. Fry in hot oil.
8. Serve with avocado and salsa criolla.

honeydew of the mangrove

Sticky rice with shell and crab with timer squid in its ink

Ingredients for the sweet shell and crab

• 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
• 1/4 cup finely chopped white onion
• 1 clove of minced garlic
• 1/2 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
• 2 tablespoons of achiote oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 cups of rice
• 4 cups of water or crab broth
• 1 cup black shells removed
• 1 cup of crab meat with its fat.
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 tsp. squid ink

For the squid tempura in its ink:

• 1 cup button squid
• 1/2 tsp. mustard
• minced garlic to taste
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 subtle lemon (juice)
• 2 tablespoons of wheat flour
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp. squid ink
• 1 egg
• 1 cup of beer

For the green canes:

• 1 green peeled and cut into small sticks
• vegetable oil for frying

Procedure for the sweet

1. Make a rehash with the achiote oil, butter, onions, garlic, green pepper and a pinch of salt so that the rehash softens.
2. Add the rice to the sauce and stir constantly.
3. Add a little salt to the broth from the crab cooking and stir constantly until the rice is almost completely cooked, add the squid ink (optional), the crab meat and just at the end the shell, stir, add a tablespoon of butter to finish. The texture of the syrup is unctuous and bright.

Procedure for squid tempura in its ink:

1. Season the squid with mustard, garlic, salt, pepper and lemon juice.
2. Separately, beat the cornstarch, flour, squid ink, egg and beer in a bowl. Beat it very well.
3. Pass the marinated squid through the previous mixture and with the help of a spoon fry them in hot oil, reserve for assembly.
4. Fry the green canes.

Note: in a very hot saucepan, place the syrup, place the squid and the green sticks.

Sweet of the three milks

Ingredients for the cake:

• 4 eggs
• 3/4 cup of wheat flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp. vanilla essence
• 1 tbsp. of butter
• 1 tbsp. of wheat flour
• Cinnamon powder to taste

For the three milk sauce:

• 1 cup of heavy cream
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 1 can of condensed milk

For the Italian meringue:

• 4 egg whites
• 400g sugar
• 1 cup of water

Procedure for the cake:

1. Beat the egg whites until stiff
2. Add the yolks one by one and continue beating
3. Incorporate the vanilla essence
4. Without stopping to beat add the sugar
5. Once everything is mixed, incorporate the flour in an enveloping way
6. Prepare a mold with butter and flour on its sides
7. Bake for 25 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius. Let cool

For the three milk sauce:

1. Mix the three milks in a bowl, and beat a little

For the Italian meringue:

1. Place 300 g of sugar in a small pot
2. Add water to cover the sugar
3. Once it is at the boil until thread point
4. Beat the egg whites in a blender and incorporate the syrup in the form of thread
5. Beat until the temperature of the mixer bowl drops. Reserve

Mounting:

1. Prick the cake with a fork and add the three milks to a container until it is well hydrated.
2. With the help of a sleeve place the meringue, place a pinch of cinnamon.