Humitas Ecuatorianas (Ecuadorian Steamed Corn Cakes)

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This past weekend, my dad taught my little sister and me how to make a traditional Ecuadorian dish call “humita.” Humitas are a seasonal dish that isn’t eaten all year round, but I can honestly say, when they taste this good, why not?!

Humitas, a steamed corn cake, is simple in ingredients but has a very precise process. You might make yours differently but in my parent’s casita this is how we make it. I will definitely be passing this on to my kids.

As I learn to cook more traditional dishes, and not just everyday meals, I can see how much work goes into creating and preserving our culinary culture. After learning the process from my dad, I think this should be prepared more often than not. But I digress…let’s get to the humitas.

One thing to remember is that Latinos tend to disregard measuring ingredients, which is why some recipes have been hard to document. The entire time we tried to documented the process of making humitas and my dad would just say “That’s good,” or ” Just a tiny bit more.” So I did my best in trying to eyeball the measurements for these delicious treats.

We prepped all the ingredients and made sure that the blender and bowls were handy for all the mixing. In order to use the husks we steamed ours, but you could also presoak the husk so they don’t get stiff. Since coming out of the holiday season you can basically find corn husks everywhere, but if you are having difficulty finding them then you should find your local Latino grocery/market because they have them year round.

While the corn husks steamed, we prepped the wet ingredients. First, the butter should be melted in with the milk and yeast. Microwave that mixture in a microwave safe bowl or cup for about 45 seconds. Pour that into a large mixing bowl and go blend the corn mixture.

First, crack 3 eggs in the blender, add half the salt, half the sugar, and half the corn. Blend on high until smooth. Add this mixture to the butter mixture and repeat this step one more time until all the corn is blended. Add the second batch of corn mixture to the butter mixture and stir until smooth.

Next comes the masa. Add the masa a little bit at a time until it is all in and stir until smooth. Then add the cheese and stir until completely incorporated. This needs to feel thick but you don’t want the masa to feel like dough or be too runny. Once this is ready get your corn husks out of the pot and into a bowl to create your assembly line.

The corn husks need to be big enough to hold about 1/2 a cup of masa in the center. You can double up on the husks and just have them overlapping. Try not to use husks that have holes where the masa will be poured. Place the masa in the center and fold one side long ways, the pointy end down, and then finally the other side wraps around. You can always use husks ties from any rejected husks to tie the humitas but that’s not necessary.

Place the wrapped humitas in the steamer pot and place on the stove. Make sure to check the water level and add more if necessary. Keep the temperature on high so the hottest steam will be produced to cook the humitas. They should be ready in half an hour.

Optional ingredients would be scalions or onions grilled in achiote and it would be added in the middle of the masa before folding it close. We didn’t do that for this batch because not everyone in the family likes onions, and the kids love this version the best, so these pictures are without the onions. But I highly recommend them if you are a fan of grilled onions.

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To make this dairy free make sure to do the following:

• Replace the milk with Unflavored Almond or Soy Milk.
• Use a plant based butter like avocado or olive oil.
• Use plant based cheese or omit the cheese for nutritional yeast shown above. Use a 1:1 replacement.

Let me know in the comments below how yours turned out! Did you make any substitutions? I’d love to know!

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