Papas Huancaino

Sackville's Note:

This is a take on a popular potato dish from the highlands of Peru. It strays from more traditional recipes because it has been adapted to use more easy-to-find ingredients, but it is still a very tasty and spicy dish -- originally from the Andes mountain town of Huancayo.

• Total Time: 2 hrs 15 mins
• Prep Time: 2 hrs
• Cook Time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 1 small lemon , juiced
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1 medium onion , thinly sliced and separated into rings
• 1 ½ cups grated monterey jack cheese or 1 ½ cups muenster cheese , preferred
• 2 fresh jalapeno peppers , halved,seeds and stems removed
• ½ teaspoon turmeric
• 1 -1 ½ cup half-and-half
• 1⁄3; cup olive oil
• 8 leaves bibb lettuce (Boston)
• 8 medium potatoes , boiled,peeled,and halved lengthwise
• 4 hard-boiled eggs , halved lengthwise
• ½ cup sweetcorn
• ½ cup sliced black olives

Directions:

1. In a ceramic bowl, combine the lemon juice, ground chile, salt, black pepper, and the onion slices.
2. Allow to marinate at room temperature for 1-2 hours.
3. In a blender puree the cheese, fresh chiles, turmeric, and the cream.
4. If the mixture seems too thick, add more cream, a little at a time.
5. Heat the oil in a skillet.
6. Pour in the cheese-cream mixture and reduce the heat to very low.
7. Cook for a few minutes, stirring constantly until the sauce is smooth and thick and creamy.
8. Arrange the lettuce leaves on a platter or on individual plates.
9. Top the leaves with the potatoes, cut side down, and pour the sauce over the potatoes.
10. Garnish the platter or plates with the eggs, corn slices, and the olives.
11. Drain the onion rings and mop up any excess with paper towels.
12. Arrange the onion rings over the potatoes.

Reviews

[Susan #2]

Haven't tried this recipe, but the correct name for it is Papas a la Huancaina everywhere in Peru (and in Peruvian cookbooks).

[Pets'R'us]

We had this as a vegetarian main course. The creamy cheese sauce was much lighter than I expected and all the flavors in this dish were great, the onions were especially good. The only thing I did differently was that I added a crushed clove of garlic to the cheese mix. Will make this again!