Skip to content
FriendsPantry

Peruvian

Papa a la huancaína

Contains egg (no meat or fish)

Slices of boiled yellow potato draped in a silky, bright-yellow sauce of ají amarillo, fresh cheese and evaporated milk — a classic Peruvian starter.

Papa a la huancaína is a Peruvian starter, ready in about 55 minutes and made with potato, ají amarillo paste and queso fresco. It serves 6 and is rated easy to cook.

Start cooking
Close-up of Peruvian Papa a la Huancaína on a blue plate with eggs and olives.
Photo: Nano Erdozain / Pexels · Pexels License
Prep
15 min
Cook
25 min
Rest
15 min
Total
55 min
Serves
6
Level
Easy
Calories
343

Ingredients

6 servings

For the sauce

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Boil the potatoes (opens in a new tab) in well-salted water until tender, 20–25 minutes. Drain, cool, peel and slice thickly.

    Potatoes boiling in a pot
    How it looks · Photo: Lionel Ntasano on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Blend the ají amarillo, cheese, evaporated milk (opens in a new tab), crackers, oil and garlic (opens in a new tab) until completely smooth. It should coat a spoon thickly; add more milk or crackers to adjust. Season with a little salt.

  3. Step 3

    Line a platter with lettuce (opens in a new tab), arrange the potato (opens in a new tab) slices on top and pour over the sauce. Garnish with egg (opens in a new tab) halves and olives (opens in a new tab) and serve at room temperature.

    • 5 min
    Fresh herbs scattered over a finished dish
    How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
Peru · Well documentedThe name refers to Huancayo in the Peruvian Andes, though the dish is strongly associated with Lima.More food from Peru
Dish
Lunch · Appetizers & starters · Side dishes
Cooking method
Boiled, Blended
Taste
creamy, spicy (chilli heat), fruity, savoury
Diet
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No nut ingredients
All labelsVegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free
Without the optional extras: Lacto-vegetarian, Egg-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Make-ahead
Cook more with
Potato · Ají amarillo paste · Queso fresco · Evaporated milk · Saltine crackers · Garlic
Techniques
Boiling · Wet grinding · Emulsification

Allergens

  • Contains: Milkfrom queso fresco, evaporated milk, saltine crackers
  • Contains, can be adapted: Eggsfrom egg
  • Contains: Wheatfrom saltine crackers
  • Contains: Glutenfrom saltine crackers
  • May contain: Soyfrom saltine crackers

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

343 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 258 g · recipe makes 6

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 14%
  • Carbohydrate 42%
  • Fat 45%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy343 kcal133 kcal
Protein11.9 g4.6 g
Carbohydrate36.5 g14.1 g
Net carbohydrate32.5 g12.6 g
Sugars5.5 g2.1 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre4 g1.5 g
Fat17.3 g6.7 g
Saturated fat6.1 g2.4 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol31 mg12 mg
Sodium610 mg236 mg
Salt equivalent1.5 g0.6 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
898 mg
Calcium
285 mg
Iron
1.9 mg
Magnesium
57 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
141 µg
Vitamin C
49 mg
Vitamin D
1.4 µg
Vitamin B12
0.6 µg
Folate (DFE)
52 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: egg, black olives.
  • Ají amarillo paste: Raw hot chilli peppers (FDC 170106) used as a stand-in for puréed Peruvian yellow chilli; jarred pastes may add a little oil and salt.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • The sauce thickens as it stands; loosen it with a spoonful of milk before serving.

Serve with

  • The sauce is also served as a dip with fried cassava or tossed with pasta (tallarines a la huancaína).

Storage

  • Refrigerate the sauce up to 3 days.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Sauces, chutneys & dips for this dish

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

  • Potato, yellow or waxy, scrubbed1000 g
  • Lettuce6 leaf · 60 g
  • Egg, hard-boiled, halved (optional)3 piece · 150 g
  • Black olives, black (botija) olives (optional)6 piece · 24 g
Used in steps 1, 3

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

You might also like