Papa a la huancaína, a vegetarian recipe

Name: Papa a la huancaína
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Peru
Ingredients: 800 g yellow-fleshed potatoes; 3 tbsp ají amarillo paste (Peruvian yellow chilli); 200 g fresh cheese such as queso fresco or mild feta; 150 ml evaporated milk; 6 salted crackers; 1 small onion, chopped; 1 garlic clove; 2 tbsp neutral oil; Salt; Black olives and hard-boiled eggs, to serve

Method

Boil the potatoes whole and unpeeled in salted water for 20 to 25 minutes, until a knife slides through. Drain and let them cool to warm.
Meanwhile heat the oil in a small pan and fry the onion and garlic for 5 minutes, then add the ají paste and cook 2 minutes more to take off its raw edge.
Let this mixture cool completely; blended hot, it makes the cheese split and turn grainy.
Blend the cheese, evaporated milk, crackers and cooled ají mixture to a perfectly smooth, bright yellow sauce.
Adjust with a splash more milk: the sauce should coat a spoon without running like water. Salt sparingly, as the cheese is already salty.
Peel the still-warm potatoes and cut them into thick rounds, laying them out on a serving plate.
Spoon the cold sauce generously over them and finish with black olives and wedges of hard-boiled egg.

The contrast between warm potatoes and cold sauce is the whole point of the dish. The crackers are not a shortcut: they are what gives the sauce its characteristic body.

The techniques this recipe uses

Drain and rinse
Canning liquid clouds a sauce and salts it blind: rinse until the water runs clear.
Sweat the aromatics
Medium heat, no browning: the onion should turn translucent and sweet, not toasted.

Frequently asked questions

Why is my sauce grainy?

Nearly always because the ají mixture was blended while still hot: heat makes fresh cheese curdle. Let it cool completely before it goes into the blender, and blend long enough for a perfectly smooth sauce.

What can replace ají amarillo paste?

Ají amarillo is a Peruvian yellow chilli, more fruity than fiery, and it provides as much colour as flavour. There is no truly faithful substitute; a blended mild yellow or orange chilli comes closest, accepting a different profile.

Are the crackers really necessary?

Yes, they are not a shortcut: they absorb liquid and give the sauce its coating body. Without them it stays thin and runs off the potato slices. Adjust how many you use to reach the thickness you want.

Papa a la huancaína

Method

The techniques this recipe uses

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Nutrition per serving

Frequently asked questions

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