Photo credit: Andagi
I come from a long line of atypical Latin American women who don’t really know how to cook. (My mom won’t be happy I’m divulging this information. Sorry mamita, I still think you’re an amazing woman!). I don’t have pangs of nostalgia for my grandmother’s arroz con pollo or for my tía’s empanadas. Growing up, my father was the one who cooked in my house, so the mouth-watering cravings are for his food.
Having said that, my mother – with the help of a very popular Peruvian cookbook called ¿Qué cocinaré hoy? – does make a delicious Papa a la Huancaína, a cold dish made with papa amarilla (did you know that the potato originated in Perú and that there are thousands of varieties and that there’s even an International Potato Center?), ají amarillo and queso fresco. It is truly delicioso, and I don’t say this lightly and only because she’s my mamá… Truth be told, this is not one of my favorite Peruvian dishes. I have a bit of an issue with dishes a base de queso, but that’s a story for another post.
If you’ve ever been blessed with eating Peruvian food, you’ve probably had this dish as an appetizer. Whenever people find out I’m Peruvian, I’m immediately asked if I can make ceviche and papa a la huancaína – to which I respond by whispering a humiliating no! But, I do know my mom’s recipe and know I’m sharing it with all of you!
INGREDIENTS
- 1 lb of boiled yellow potatoes
- 2 teaspoons of jarred ají amarillo (the recipe actually calls for fresh ají amarillo, but that’s virtually impossible to find in the States)
- the yolks of 2 hard boiled eggs
- 16 oz of queso fresco
- 1 cup evaporated milk
- lime juice
- Olives (preferably the Botija kind) y lettuce leaves
DIRECTIONS
Cut the potatoes in 1/2 inch rounds and set aside.
Put all other ingredients, except the olives and lettuce leaves, in a blender and mix until you get a creamy, smooth sauce that you can pour. If it’s too thick, add a bit of water until it becomes thinner. If it’s too liquidy, you can add galletas de soda or saltines, the next best thing. (To avoid this, my mom says she usually pours the milk last into the blender and she basically uses just enough to cover all the other ingredients.)
Arrange the lettuce leaves on a platter, place the potatoe rounds and pour the sauce over them. Garnish with olives and slices of hard boiled eggs.
**Note: My mom doesn’t use salt because the queso fresco she uses is already salty and she doesn’t use oil either like the orginal recipe calls for. Also, if you don’t want to use ají amarillo, you can use something called Bijol condiment to get the yellowing coloring. By the way, if you’re interested on another variation, you can go here.
The Huancaína sauce can be used not only on this particular dish, but in my country it’s also popular just as a dip!
I hope you all enjoy this recipe and that if you decide to go ahead and try it, you come back to tell us all about it!
Peruavian food is one of mis favoritas. Thanks for sharing this great recipe, I’ll try to make it, solo falta una Inca Kola.
¡Ummmm! Yumi
Hoy comí papa a la huancaina y arroz con pollo. Rico “ñam ñam” como dice mi hija, cuando le gusta alguna comida.
Debes saber que siendo súper peruana yo tampoco sé cómo preparar la bendita crema, o me sale salada, o me sale poco amarilla, ¡terrible! Y menos me sale el ceviche, pero no pierdo las esperanzas de que algún día me salga como lo prepara mi mamá
Y me suscribo a lo que dice Mamá Contemporánea: “sólo falta la Inka Kola”
Besos gigantes desde Lima.
Lu
Mamá de DOS chancletas
When I was little I had a peruvian babysitter that used to make this. I’ve been searching for these yellow potatoes ever since.
Un platillo delicioso y tradicional de Perú que es delicioso! It looks so simple, but one bite proves you otherwise! Thanks for sharing a family secret!
@MamaContemporanea, después me cuentas como te quedó!! Y, sí, tanto tu como @Lu tienen razón: falta una Inka bien fría y en botella de vidrio!!
@Sisi, I didn’t know you had a Peruvian babysitter growing up! That’s cool!! Well, now you know how to make them! I’m sure with your culinary skills, this dish will come out great
When you come back to NY,we will go to this restaurant in Williamsburg “Chimu,” and then you can tell me whether or not it even holds a candle to yours.
There’s also Francesco Restaurant in Coral Gables Florida where I first tried it (and I think its better than Chimu’s).
If you go to either place, let me know your thoughts.
Thanks for posting this awesome recipe. But when I head over to California, you can make this for me! Yay!!!!
Best,
Li
@LaLicenciada
@HerDeepThoughts
Li´s last post ..The Unlikely Adventure of Race McCloud Private Eye A Play
Hola @Li!!
I like Francesco’s in Coral Gables, but I don’t think I ever tried their Papa a la Huancaína since it really isn’t one of my favorite Peruvian dishes. If you ever go back, or if you’re ever at any Peruvian restaurant and they serve Tiradito – I highly recommend you try it. You have to like sashimi, though
You can definitely count on my mom (ja,ja) making this for you if you ever head this way… oh, yeah, I’m in Colorado
I will def. try that when I head over to Miami (no voy a Blogalicious – no tengo dinero!). Why did I think you were from California? oops! Mira, tenemos que hablar por skype… where you been girl?
Best,
Li
@LaLicenciada
@HerDeepThoughts
Li´s last post ..Being Latina and Breaking The Mold
Hey there, I was reading your post and I just wanted to thank you for putting out such excellent content. There is so much junk on the internet these days its difficult to find anything worthwhile. I actually have cooked this recipe before, I got this book last month on recommendation from a friend http://ninjahq.com/go/cookingrecipes and it turned out very nice! I’m extremely eager to try your variation of it though, it looks fantastic. I think you might enjoy those recipes, they’re very good. Thanks for the article and tips.