Serves 4
If you ask a Peruvian what her favorite sauce is, the answer will probably be the creamy salsa Huancaína. Legend has it that a cook created it to accompany the boiled potatoes she sold for lunch to the railway workers in Huancayo, a beautiful city high in the Andes.
½ cup ají amarillo paste
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup evaporated milk
4 soda crackers
8 ounces queso fresco (fresh white cheese)
Salt
6 yellow potatoes, boiled and peeled (see tip box)
8 Iceberg or Romaine lettuce leaves
8 Alfonso olives
3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled and cut in slices
4 parsley sprigs
1. Put the ají amarillo paste in the blender, add oil and milk, and process with the crackers, queso fresco, and salt, until smooth.
2. Cut the potatoes in thick slices (about ½-inch thick).
3. Put 2 lettuce leaves on each plate, some potato slices, and cover with a few tablespoons of the sauce.
4. Garnish with 2 black olives, hard-boiled egg slices, and parsley.
Starchy yellow potatoes are the number one choice when making this traditional dish. Cook them in boiling water until tender, peel them while still hot, and slice them thickly (or use them whole if they’re small). If you can’t find this kind of potato, use Yukon Gold or Russet.