Papa a la Huancaína

Ingredients

• 800 g papa amarilla, scrubbed, unpeeled
• For the huancaína sauce
• 80 g ají amarillo paste
• 250 g queso fresco, broken into pieces
• 160 ml evaporated milk
• 30 ml olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, peeled
• 3 pieces soda crackers (galleta de soda)
• 1 tsp fine salt, adjust to taste
• To serve
• 4 leaves lettuce, large, outer leaves
• 4 eggs, hard-boiled, peeled, halved
• 12 black olives

Method

1. 1
   Place the unpeeled papa amarilla in a pot of well-salted cold water and bring to a boil. Cook until a thin knife passes through the flesh without resistance and the skin begins to split slightly at the shoulder of the potato.
2. 2
   Drain the potatoes and allow them to cool until handleable. Peel while still warm, then slice into rounds approximately 1 cm thick. Arrange on a tray in a single layer and hold at room temperature.
3. 3
   Combine the ají amarillo paste, queso fresco, evaporated milk, olive oil, garlic, and soda crackers in a blender. This is where the dish lives or dies: blend at high speed until the sauce is completely smooth and flows from the spoon in a slow, steady ribbon that coats the back of the spoon fully — add evaporated milk a small splash at a time if the sauce is too dense, or an extra cracker if it threatens to separate. The finished sauce must be warm in heat (the ají amarillo present but not aggressive) and uniformly yellow. Season with salt.
4. 4
   Lay one lettuce leaf on each plate to form a base. Arrange the sliced potato over the lettuce. Spoon the sauce at room temperature generously over the potato, ensuring each slice is fully coated without pooling at the base of the plate. The sauce should move slowly, not run.
5. 5
   Complete each plate with two halved hard-boiled eggs and three black olives. The canonical Limeño presentation admits no substitution of these garnish elements. Serve immediately, while the sauce remains at room temperature.