Papa a la Huancaina

A few years ago, I went to Peru with my parents and a cousin.  It was a great trip.  We covered lots of ground in a short amount of time.  We walked, took a train, a bus, and a few airplanes.  

We saw Machu Picchu, Cusco, Arequipa, Lake Titicaca, and Lima.  We ate delicious food as well.  I like making food from countries I have visited.  It often takes me a long time to actually making the dishes though.  I went to Switzerland last summer and have a few recipes I want to try but haven't actually make yet.

I have made another Peruvian dish.  Over a year ago, I made Aji de Galina.  It was also very tasty.  

I went to Belize two year ago, which inspired me to made Belizean stew chicken and Belizean rice and beans.

I made smokey salmon and egg sandwiches and happy marriage cake after traveling to Iceland.  I think it is a fun way to re-live the memories from a trip.

I found this papa al a Huacaina recipe at PBS food.  I used bread crumbs instead of saltine crackers.  I also ended up adding milk to the sauce to thin it out a bit.  I also used four eggs instead of just one.

The ingredients are 4 boiled potatoes, 12 ounces queso blanco, 5 ounces evaporated milk, 1 1/2 tablespoons aji amarillo paste, 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric, 2 tablespoons bread crumbs, 1/4 cup vegetable oil, 1/4 cup milk, lettuce, 4 eggs, and olives.

I added the aji amarillo paste, queso blanco, and turmeric into a blender.

I added the evaporated milk and bread crumbs.

I turned the blender on and then drizzled in the fourth of a cup of extra firing olive oil.  The sauce was still thick, so I ended up adding milk as well.

For each serving, I placed a few leaves of lettuce on a plate.  I sliced the boiled and pealed potato and then placed it over the lettuce.

I poured a fourth of a the sauce over the potato.  I then added a sliced egg and some olives on top of the sauce.

 This was a tasty dish.  I could taste the savory and somewhat spicy aji amarillo paste.  The turmeric also added some smokiness an flavor.

 The cheese added some saltiness and creaminess.  The sauce was thick and rich.  I would taste the extra virgin olive oil as well.  It wasn't over powering but present.

The lettuce added a lightness and crispness.  It was a good contrast to the other, heavier components.

The garnishes were a great addition too.  The olives were a little briny and eggs were creamy.

All the ingredients went well together.  It was an enjoyable dish.  I would make it again.