Peruvian Potato Salad

Origin

This is the famous Papas a la Huancaina, It's a typical dish from Peru which I loosely translated to Peruvian potato salad.

The sauce is super easy to make and can be mixed in the blender or with an immersion blender (one of my favorite inventions ever!), so other than searching for a few of the ingredients, it's a no-brainer.

It's such a common meal, according to my friends from Peru, that there are as many recipes as grandmothers, all claiming to be the real ones.

This is one of my favorite potato salads ever, so I say go for it and try it, at least once.

Ingredients 

• Potatoes: I use small potatoes that come in different colors and sizes (image above). They bake faster and fall apart less. But you can use any small potato or regular ones, the one you always make potato salad with.
• Queso fresco: it's made from cow's milk and is white and has a somewhat crumbly grainy texture (image below, left). It is not a soft cheese. You can buy it online.
• Yellow pepper paste: this is the star of this dish and the ingredient that, in my opinion, sets it apart (image below, right). The yellow chili peppers used are not the regular ones you usually see in the market, brother to the green and red, no, this is a small orange-yellowish one, similar to the jalapeño in size. You can buy the paste online too.
• Crackers: salty or water crackers are used to thicken the mixture. Any type that is plain in flavor will do. Breadcrumbs can be used too, but I think the crackers are easily found and superior in texture.
• Hard-boiled eggs.
• Fresh parsley.
• Black olives.

Simple steps 

1. Lightly sautée onion in oil.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients to the same pan, or transfer it all to the blender.
3. Blend or mix with enough olive oil to make a paste.
4. Mix with the potatoes, hard-boiled eggs, and the rest of the ingredients.

Type of potatoes 

Use a starchy potato, one that will not completely disintegrate.

I find that small potatoes always work better than large ones. But any type you regularly use for your favorite potato salad will work just fine.

Depending on where you live, you'll find different types of potatoes.

Here in Argentina, we don't have a ton, but we do have small potatoes (second image from top) that come in different shapes and colors. They're grown in the North, near Peru, so I use them when I find them.

There are two kinds of potatoes too.

Did you see the gorgeous yellow/red ones? The flavor is slightly more bitter and less creamy than the regular one but basically the same; they add a nice touch, are more festive, and a simple potato salad acquires more of an identity.

Kitchen notes

• Organization: read the recipe first and make sure you have ingredients at the right temperatures, equipment needed, and enough workspace. This will make the process so much easier!
• Potatoes: use small potatoes if you can find them. They have a better structure. But the potatoes you use for making your favorite potato salad will work.
• Yellow pepper paste: you can make a batch and keep it in the fridge. Here's a link to a homemade recipe. Or you can buy yellow pepper sauce online since the Peruvian yellow peppers might be hard to find.
• Olives: do use them if you have some. They add to the final dish.
• Queso fresco: it should be somewhat crumbly. You can buy it online.
• Substitutions: though they are not exactly the same, you can sub a mix of regular yellow pepper with habanero peppers (for heat, or any other spicy yellow pepper you like), and the queso fresco for firm ricotta with some cream cheese. It will work once you blend everything.
• Evaporated milk: I use regular whole milk when I don't have evaporated. It works just fine.