Recipe: Papa a la Huancaina (Huancayo style potatoes)

"Papa a la Huancaina" can be translated as "Huancayo style potatoes" and it's a Peruvian salad of boiled yellow potatoes in a spicy, creamy sauce called Huancaina sauce. This dish is typically served over lettuce leaves and garnished with black olives, white corn kernels and hard boiled egg quarters. Extremely delicious.

Ingredients

• 10 medium potatoes (new or red a good choice or Yukon Gold potatoes)
• 1 lb queso fresco or romano cheese or Mexican blend cheese or feta, work well
• 6 red sweet peppers (use small sweet red and orange Ajies peppers. When using whole ajies, first clean out the seeds)
• 1/4 small habanero pepper (clean out the seeds or be careful it is very hot)
• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• salt and pepper
• lettuce
• 3 hardboiled egg
• black olives
• 2 garlic cloves

Preparation

First, boil, peel and cut in slices potatoes (Yukon Gold potatoes).

Then, in a blender, mix the cheese, peppers, milk, oil, garlic, salt and pepper. The sauce should be fairly thick; add more cheese and olive oil if not, or add milk is too thick.

You have to lay a bed of lettuce in a serving dish and place the potatoes on top. Cover with the sauce. Cut the hard boiled eggs in quarters or halfs and place on top of the potatoes. Add black olives if desired.

This dish can be served slightly cold.

Recipe: Peruvian Causa

The Peruvian Causa is one of the most popular dishes all along Peru's coast. Besides being delicious, the traditional causa is fairly economic and easy to prepare, making it accessible to the rich and the poor, great chefs and terrible cooks. Moreover, it's a versatile dish that allows for many variations, both in the purée and in the fillings.

That's why we want to provide you with the classic recipe, a potatoes and ají amarillo mash filled with tuna and avocado.

Ingredients:

• 1kg potatoes (yellow, if available)
• 4 tbsp ají amarillo paste
• ½ cup vegetable oil (olive oil not recommended)
• Juice 1 key lime
• 1 can of tuna-fish packed in oil
• ½ onion, finely chopped
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 avocado
• Salt

Preparation:

First of all, boil the potatoes in salted water. Peel and mash while still hot (enough to handle). Let cool and mix thoroughly with the ají amarillo paste, vegetable oil, and lime juice. Salt to taste.

Mix the tuna with the chopped onions and mayonnaise.

Place a layer of the potato mash on a serving dish, and spread with a thin film of mayonnaise. Cut the avocado in slices and lay on the first layer of potato mash. Spread a second layer of potato mash, and cover with the tuna mayonnaise. Cover with a last layer of potatoes, and decorated with slices of hard boiled eggs and black olives.

By the way, here is and advice: try variations of the filling using (instead of tuna) crab-meat, shrimps, octopus in olive, or (for vegetarians) plain tomato slices.

Peru: A marvellous destination to visit and to taste

With more than 800 typical dishes, the Peruvian cuisine is nowadays the most exquisite and important of the world. Experts from many countries now consider the peruvian dishes have a quality that make them at the same level as the Japanese, French, Chinese and Italian food.

That's why this site wants to share the deepest secrets of the gastronomy in Peru: recipes, cooking techniques, typical ingredients, restaurant guides, pictures and a lot more. Like peruvian people say when the are about to eat: "Buen provecho!"