Few countries can boast more of loving the potato than Peru. We in WTP we also love it very much and proof of this are our potato recipes, but we lacked the potato a la huancaínaa classic of Peruvian cuisine that is very easy to make and serves as a first course or as an appetizer very easily.
It has no secret, beyond use potato to cook —which you can cook in the microwave and are ready in ten minutes— and to resort to the yellow chili (one of the most popular chili peppers in Peru and the same one that we need to make the ají de gallina or this yellow chili tiradito) and that the sauce is very thick, but without it being a lump.
Is traditional peruvian recipe it is very common to serve it as a garnish, especially for rice with chicken, and the sauce —which is not spicy— is ideal for smearing the rice. By the way, the name huancaína derives from the city of Huancayo, north of Lima, where the preparation is supposed to originate.
Similar versions are also found in Bolivian cuisine and also in other parts of Peru, although today the potato a la huancaína is very widespread, as is the ocopa or the potatoes a la arequipeña.
We put the potatoes with skin and washed in plenty of salted water to cook, raise the boil to high heat and then lower to medium boil for 35 minutes. Add the eggs and boil for another 10 minutes.
We take out, cool the eggs in ice water and reserve, and then in a kitchen robot or glass for a hand blender we put the yellow pepper, the fresh cheese, five crackers and the evaporated milk. Blend at high speed until you get a smooth paste.
Adjust the texture of the sauce to our liking adding cookies if necessary. Taste and season with salt, reserving the sauce.
Peel the potatoes and cut into slices of a couple of centimeters and then we peel the hard-boiled eggs and cut them into quarters.
Put the potatoes on the plate, cover them with the sauce and accompany them with some lettuce leaves, hard-boiled eggs and black olives as a garnish.
BRA Braisogona_A343854 Professional – Saucepan, 18 cm, 18/10 Stainless Steel
With what to accompany the potato a la huancaína
In the recipe we already include the most common accompaniment of the potato a la huancaína, such as lettuce, boiled eggs and sliced black olives, but as it is a starter or garnish, you can use it in everything type of recipes where you include rice.
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