Fanesca is a soup traditional to Ecuador. Its components and preparation vary from one region of the country to another, if not from one family to another. It is typically prepared and served only in the week before Easter. It is a rich soup, with the primary ingredients being figleaf gourd (sambo), pumpkin (zapallo), fava beans and twelve different kinds of grains (chochos, abas, lentils, peas, corn and other) representing the disciples of Jesus, and salt cod, cooked in milk, due to the Christian religious prohibition against red meat during Holy Week (the week before Easter). It is also generally garnished with hard boiled eggs, fried plantains, herbs, parsley, and sometimes empanadas.