🥔 Papa a la huancaína
Papa a la huancaína is a Peruvian starter of sliced boiled potatoes covered in a creamy, bright-yellow sauce. The sauce is blended from fresh cheese, ají amarillo chillies, milk and a few crackers that thicken it, and it is mildly spicy, salty and smooth. The dish is served cold, often on lettuce leaves, as an appetizer or side.
Diets
Allergens
Contains (in a typical recipe):
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 800 g yellow or waxy potatoes
- 200 g queso fresco
- 3 ají amarillo chillies, seeded (or 3 tbsp ají amarillo paste)
- 150 ml milk
- 4 salted crackers
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- Salt
- Lettuce leaves to serve
Method
- Boil the potatoes in salted water until tender, cool and slice thickly.
- Briefly sauté the chillies in the oil to soften them.
- Blend the chillies, queso fresco, milk and crackers until smooth and creamy; adjust salt.
- Arrange the potatoes on lettuce and pour the sauce over.
- Serve cold.
How to make it lighter
- Thin the sauce with a little more milk so a smaller amount covers the potatoes.
- Use a lean fresh cheese and keep the oil to 1 tbsp — 1 tbsp oil ≈ 120 kcal.
- Serve it as a starter with grilled protein instead of as a full meal.
History
The name refers to Huancayo, a city in the central Andes of Peru, though the exact origin of the dish is uncertain and several stories circulate. It is built on two Andean staples, potatoes and ají amarillo. Today it is one of the best-known Peruvian starters, served at home and in restaurants across the country.
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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →