Papas a la Huancaina

Image by jasonlam via Flickr

In the central highlands of Peru you'll find a province called Huancayo. This province is known for many things - the Cerrito de la Libertad, the statue of the Virgin of Concepcion... but it's most known for it's food. In particular, it's known for a potato dish called papas a la huancaina (huancayo style potatoes... clever, eh?) This is a delicious dish, usually served as an appetizer but sometimes as a side dish that consists of boiled and sliced potatos covered in a spicy cheese sauce. It's the first authentic Peruvian dish I ever tasted, and is one of my favorites still. And here's how you make it!

• vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 4 aji amarillo (yellow peruvian pepper) - seeded and chopped
  
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  
• 2 cups queso fresco or queso blanco (farmers cheese - I've been told feta will do in a pinch)
  
• saltine crackers
• 3/4 cup evaporated milk
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Saute the onion, aji and garlic in 2 0r 3 tbsps of vegetable oil, until the onion becomes soft and translucent.
2. Put the sauted mixture in a blender or food processer, and puree it with the cheese and evaporated milk.
   
3. Add crackers as needed to make it thick - this should be a fairly thick sauce that sticks to the spoon. If you get it too thick, add a little more evaporated milk to thin it out
4. Add salt and pepper to taste

Boil whole potatoes until cooked through, but don't let them get real soft! (If you're in Peru, you'll want to use papas rosadas for this - do NOT use papas amarillas!) After they've cooked, let them cool enough to touch then take the skin off and slice in 1/2 inch slices.

Arrange each serving like this -
- 1 lettuce leaf or a small bed of shredded lettuce
- 3 slices of potato
- sauce to cover
- decorate with a quarter of a hard boiled egg and a couple slices of black olive

Provecho!

Spring is in the Air

Image by ginnerobot via Flickr

This week has been lovely - the first signs of spring in the air. The sun has been out for a few hours every midday, which is a welcome change from the constant grey skies that are typical of Lima winters. The birds have been going crazy out in the huge bougainvillea behind my house - it's full of all kinds of little flying things. Lots of flowers blooming, too - my hibiscus has the prettiest triple yellow blooms.

Still cool in the evenings, though, so I'm still cooking food that's comforting and warming. Last night, I made a pork/broccoli/cauliflower stir fry. I started with the biggest stock pot I have, and the water on to boil because I was going to be cooking a pound and a half of spaghetti. I put about 2 tbsps of salt in the water, and a glug of oil. I'm not going to get into the discussion of whether salt or oil is necessary when boiling pasta... but I use both. ;)

While I waited for the water to boil, I took my pork tenderloin out and started cutting it up into very small cubes - no bigger than 1". Then, same thing for a half a head of broccoli and a half a head of cauliflower - small, bite-sized florets.

By the time I got all that good stuff chopped up, my water was boiling and I added my spaghetti. I took out my big old saute pan, added some oil, and started searing the pork. I sprinkled some Aji-no-Moto on - that's MSG - and a little bit of salt. Once the pork was seared, I dropped in the cauliflower. About 2 minutes later, I added the broccoli. I sprinkled on some powdered ginger - about a teaspoon. Then I added about a cup of soy sauce and a tablespoon of white vinegar, stirred it all up, turned off the heat and covered.

Now, the spaghetti was done, so I drained it in the colander. Then, last step! I dumped all that pasta on top of the meat and veggies and stirred it all together with a bamboo spoon. Taste it and adjust what you think needs adjusting - a little more soy sauce? salt? ginger? Maybe a little chinese five-spice, or some red pepper if you like it spicier. It's all up to you.

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