Peruvian
Ocopa Arequipeña
Tender potato rounds wear a velvety green sauce of huacatay, ají amarillo, toasted peanuts, queso fresco, milk, and crackers.
4 servings · 35 minutes prep · 35 minutes cook
Ingredients
Potatoes and garnish
- 2 lb Yukon Gold potatoes, similar in size, scrubbed
- 1 tbsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt, for the cooking water
- 8 butter-lettuce leaves, washed and dried
- 2 hard-boiled eggs, quartered
- 8 botija or Kalamata olives
Ocopa sauce
- 2 tbsp neutral oil
- 1 small red onion, roughly chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, sliced
- 3 fresh ají amarillo peppers, stemmed, seeded, and sliced
- 1 packed cup fresh huacatay leaves
- 1/2 cup roasted unsalted peanuts
- 5 oz queso fresco, crumbled
- 6 saltine crackers, broken
- 3/4 cup evaporated milk
- 1/4 cup evaporated milk, reserved for adjusting consistency; use only as needed
- 1/2 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt, plus more to taste
Directions
Cook the potatoes
- Place yukon gold potatoes in a saucepan, cover by 1 inch with cool water, and add the cooking salt. Bring to a bare simmer and cook until a skewer reaches each center without splitting the skins, 20-30 minutes.
- Drain and cool until easy to handle. Peel and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices. Keep covered at cool room temperature; do not refrigerate until firm and waxy.
Build and blend the ocopa sauce
- Heat neutral oil in a skillet over medium. Cook red onion and garlic cloves until softened, 4-5 minutes. Add fresh aji amarillo peppers and cook until tender and no longer raw-smelling, 5-7 minutes.
- Add huacatay and toss only until wilted and aromatic, 20-30 seconds; do not brown it. Transfer everything to a plate and cool for 5 minutes.
- Blend the cooled aromatics with roasted unsalted peanuts, queso fresco, saltine crackers, the initial evaporated milk, and the sauce salt until completely smooth, 1-2 minutes. Rest for 5 minutes so the nuts and crackers hydrate.
- Blend in the reserved evaporated milk a small spoonful at a time, using only as much as needed for the sauce to fall in a thick ribbon and blanket a spoon without standing like paste. Taste for salt, herb, and chile balance.
Arrange and serve
- Line a platter with butter lettuce and overlap the potato slices above it. Spoon the ocopa sauce generously over the center of every slice.
- Garnish with hard boiled eggs and botija or kalamata olives. Serve at cool room temperature; refrigerator-cold sauce tastes muted and overly thick.
