Peruvian Papa Huancaina Willys Style 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 HUANCAíNA

Steps:

• Cover the potatoes with salted water, boil until soft and remove from the pan to cool. You can peel the potatoes or leave the skin on.
• Remove the veins (ribs) and seeds from the peppers. Lightly fry them with the whole cloves of garlic in a little bit of oil.
• Put the peppers, garlic, cheese and salt in the batán or your blender and grind/blend until smooth. If you are using a blender it might be necessary to add some breadcrumbs or crushed salty crackers to achieve the correct consistency, or on the contrary, add some more milk if it is too thick.
• Slice the boiled potatoes once they have cooled sufficiently, using 2 potatoes per serving. Place on a large single lettuce leaf. Pour a generous portion of sauce over the potatoes and lettuce and decorate with a few slices of boiled egg, and 1 or 2 olives.
• Enjoy the result and wait for the compliments from your diners to come pouring in!

PAPA A LA HUANCAINA

Steps:

• In a blender, add the aji amarillo paste, oil and evaporated milk, crackers, farmer cheese and salt. Process until creamy.
• In a plate put a few lettuce leaves. Add some thick potato slices on top, and cover with a few tablespoons of the sauce.
• Decorate with black olives, hard-boiled eggs and parsley.

PERUVIAN POTATOES WITH SPICY CREAM SAUCE (PAPAS A LA HUANCAINA)

Steps:

• Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook for 30 minutes or until a paring knife slides into the potatoes without any resistance. Drain the potatoes and let them cool slightly. Slice the potatoes into 1/2-inch rounds and set aside.
• Combine the cheese, evaporated milk, oil, chile, garlic, and the lime juice in a blender and puree until smooth. The sauce should be creamy and pourable. If the sauce is too thick, add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the sauce is thinned out.
• Arrange the lettuce leaves on a platter and top with the sliced potatoes. Pour the sauce over the potatoes. Garnish with slices of hard boiled egg and olives. Garnish with chopped parsley. Serve chilled 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.

PAPAS A LA HUANCAINA

Steps:

• In a blender, combine cottage cheese, egg yolks, salt and pepper and Aji or Tabasco. With motor running, add oil in a slow stream, blending until incorporated. Add lemon juice, milk and scallions and blend until combined. (For a thicker sauce, add more cottage cheese, for a thinner sauce, add more milk.)
• Line plates with lettuce leaves. Toss potatoes with sauce to coat evenly and arrange on lettuce leaves. Top with egg slices and place black olives around the edges of the plates.

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.

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.