Papa A La Huancaina Huancayo Style Potatoes Food

PAPA A LA HUANCAINA (HUANCAYO-STYLE POTATOES)

Steps:

• Place potatoes into a large pot and cover with salted water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool slightly.
• Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook onion until tender, about 10 minutes.
• Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil. Boil chile peppers until soft, about 5 minutes. Run chiles under cold water to cool until cool enough to handle; remove and discard skins.
• Blend onion, chile peppers, cheese, vegetable oil, garlic, salt, and pepper in a blender until smooth. Stream evaporated milk into the blended mixture while continuing to blend until a creamy sauce is achieved.
• Arrange 1 lettuce leaf onto each of 8 plates. Halve potatoes and arrange 3 halves onto each lettuce leaf. Drizzle creamy sauce over the potatoes. Top each with an egg half and two black olive halves.

PAPA A LA HUANCAINA (POTATOES WITH CHILE-CHEESE SAUCE)

Steps:

• Cover the whole potatoes with cold, salted water, boil until cooked through. Remove from heat, drain and cool. Peel the potatoes and cut in half length-wise or into rounds.
• Place the cheese, evaporated milk, peppers and turmeric in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. With the motor running, add the crackers one at a time to thicken the sauce. With the motor still running, drizzle in the oil. Add more crackers if the sauce is too thin, or some milk or water if it is too thick. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Line a serving platter with the lettuce leaves. Place the potatoes on top of the lettuce leaves. Spoon the chile-cheese sauce over the potatoes. Garnish serving plate with egg quarters and tomato wedges. Sprinkle olives over potatoes and serve cold or at room temperature.
• VARIATIONS:.
• Papa a la Huancaina is also popular in Bolivia. However, the cheese is sometimes substituted with 1 cup of natural peanut butter.
• Ají amarillois the fiery yellow pepper common in Peruvian cuisine. These peppers can be found canned or in jars at many Latino markets.
• Try using a variety of potatoes for a colorful effect: blue, Yukon gold, russets, etc.
• A little garlic can be added to the sauce. A little lime or lemon juice squeezed in the sauce can round out its taste nicely as well.
• A local herb, palillo, is often added to the sauce, imparting a further bright yellow color. It can sometimes be found in powdered form at Latino markets. Turmeric is a fine substitute.

PAPA A LA HUANCAINA (POTATOES HUANCAYO-STYLE)

Steps:

• Place potatoes into a large pot and cover with salted water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and cool. Peel potatoes and cut in half lengthwise.
• Combine queso fresco, evaporated milk, jalapeno pepper, and turmeric in a food processor and puree until smooth. Keep the processor running and add crackers, 1 at a time, to thicken the sauce. Drizzle in oil while processing. Adjust consistency of sauce by either adding more crackers (if the sauce is too thin) or thinning it out with milk, if sauce is too thick. Season with salt and pepper.
• Line a serving platter with lettuce leaves and distribute potatoes on top. Spoon cheese sauce over the potatoes and garnish with quartered eggs and tomato wedges. Sprinkle olives over potatoes and serve cold or at room temperature.

PERUVIAN PAPA HUANCAINA - WILLY'S STYLE

Steps:

• Place boiled eggs, potatoes and onions on a serving dish.
• Blend together in a blender the cream cheese, aji or yellow pepper, garlic, crackers, oil, milk, salt and pepper for 5 minutes until you get a thick mixture.
• It should be just thick enough to cover the potatoes.
• If the cheese sauce is watery, add half a boiled potato to thicken the sauce a little.
• Remove from the blender and pour over the potatoes and eggs.
• Top with black olives and lettuce for decoration.