At almost every restaurant in the Sierra, we have found a condiment on every table, aji. The literal translation is simply, hot pepper, but aji is so much more. Every aji I’ve tasted has some ingredients in common: the tree tomato or tomate de arbol, red onion, hot peppers, a little salt, and a little oil. But every chef seems to offer their own twist.
I’ve already shared one recipe that was inspired by a chef at the Swiss Hotel, where we spent our first few weeks in country. This time, I’m going to share a recipe from the Chef at a small lodge tucked away behind Cotopaxi National Park, Los Mortiños. He has a secret ingredient that made his aji the best I have yet tasted in Ecuador.
Clockwise from the center: tree tomatoes, parsley, salt, vegetable oil, hot peppers, peanut butter, red onion.
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Not Your Average American 