A chilled terrine of yellow potato whipped with ají amarillo and lime, layered with avocado, olives and a creamy hearts of palm filling.
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AI-generated image, not a photograph of the dish
Causa can also be shaped into individual portions with a ring mould. Ají amarillo, a fruity and only mildly hot yellow chilli, is sold as a paste in Latin American grocers and gives the potato its golden colour.
An estimate computed from the recipe quantities and the USDA food composition database. Real values vary with the products used.
Hot potatoes go through a ricer without lumps and take up the oil, lime and ají properly. Once cold, the starch tightens and the mash turns gluey as soon as you work it. Chilling comes after the seasoning, never before.
The mash needs to be firm and pliable rather than wet; waterlogged potatoes or too much oil will stop it holding. Line the tin with cling film, press each layer down firmly, and give it at least an hour in the fridge before unmoulding.
Their job is to bring soft, stringy flesh bound with mayonnaise. Sliced mushrooms, pan-fried and cooled, or avocado mashed with the red onion, do the same work. Whatever you use, drain it well so it does not soak the mash.
The kitchens that never needed wheat, from nixtamalised maize to teff and cassava, and the places gluten hides where nobody thinks to look.
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