Papas A La Huancaína Recipes

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.

PAPAS A LA HUANCAíNA

Steps:

• Boil, peel and cut in slices potatoes (Yukon Gold potatoes).
• In a blender, mix the cheese, peppers, milk, oil, garlic, salt and pepper. The sauce should be fairly thick; add more cheese and olive oil if not, or add milk is too thick.
• Lay a bed of lettuce in a serving dish and place the potatoes on top. Cover with the sauce. Cut the hard boiled eggs in quarters or halfs and place on top of the potatoes. Add black olives if desired.
• This dish can be served slightly cold.

PAPAS A LA HUANCAINA

Steps:

• For the papas:.
• Assemble lettuce leaves on a nice plate or platter.
• Lay potato slices on top, trying to keep the round discs intact.
• For the salsa Huancaina:.
• In a blender container or food processor, place cheese, garlic, evaporated milk and aji paste, blend until smooth.
• Add 2 yolks of the hard boiled eggs, and a few water crackers.
• While blender is running, drizzle in 1 T of oil.
• Check consistency.
• It should be about the consistency of thin cake batter.
• If it needs more thickening, add more crackers and oil.
• Check seasoning, if you are using feta cheese, it might not need salt, you can also add a bit more aji if you like it spicy.
• To serve, pour sauce over potatoes and lettuce.
• Garnish with remaining 2 hard boiled eggs, cut in wedges and black olives.

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.