How do you make Papa a la Huancaína? A Peruvian dish?!
How do you make Papa a la Huancaína? A Peruvian dish?
I lived in Venezuela for a few years and met an awesome family from Peru. They served me this dish and I never forgot it. I have also never been able to replecate it. I would appreciate your help along with any new recipes!
Answers:
Hi, I'm a native peruvian and this is the best way I know how to make papas a la huancaina...
go to wal-mart (no kidding) and buy a sack of yukon gold potatoes (they are the same as peruvian yellow potatoes), also in the back corner by the milk of every wal-mart I've been to (four different states) they have mexican cheeses, tortillas, etc. Get a wheel of the Queso fresco, or ranchero... it's the closest you can get to peruvian fresh cheese that is used in the sauce.
You will also need a can of evaporated milk, saltines, some peanuts (depends on the family preference... dad used them, mom didn't), eggs, yellow onion, garlic, olives (greek calamatas). And ofcourse... aji amarillo (website of where to buy below)
OK.... start boiling potatoes and a couple of eggs. I boil potatoes whole and then peel and slice after they are cooled (it's easier that way). As potatoes are boiling, chop 1/2 of the onion and a couple of garlic cloves and sautee them until translucent. blend them together with the cheese (I use almost a whole wheel, buy the smaller of the wheels), milk, aji paste (add as much as you like). Add the saltines and or peanuts to help with consistency.
Once the potatoes are done and cooled, peel them and slice them in rounds. Slice the eggs in rounds too. Pour sauce over potatoes and garnish with eggs and olives.
I apologize for not having exact measurements, but I was never given measurements. All good peruvian cooks go by taste... practice makes perfect. Your tastebuds will know once you taste it!!!
I buy aji amarillo online b/c I don't live in an area like Los Angeles or Miami where there are a lot of Peruvians. The site I use is:
www.labodegaperuana.com
Here's the recipe, from a native Peruvian, and if you follow the URL I've left for you, he gives quite a nice bit of background. The aji used in this recipe are definitely the C. baccatum aji I mentioned to you in my reply to your other, related question on ajis. If you look closely to what he says, he actually uses the term aji in both the generic sense I mentioned and the specific. (The rocoto chile he mentions as an aji is the generic use of the word: the rocoto chile is a Capsicum pubescens, quite different from both the C. baccatum as well as the C. annuum groups I mentioned.)
Papa a la Huancaína:
Ingredients:
1 kg potatoes
4 green ají
1 tbsp. sugar
500 gr. fresh cheese
1 cup milk
3 lemons
2 eggs
oil
lettuce leaves
parsley
salt and pepper
10 olives
Preparation:
Boil the aji (no seeds) with sugar; remove after boiling and then blend with egg-yolks, cheese, milk, lemon and oil. Add salt. Use this sauce over previously cooked (boiled) potatoes over a bed of lettuce leaves. Decorate with half a hard-boiled egg and olives.