I’m so ready for the visit of our Peruvian relatives that yesterday I made papas a la huancaina and today I’m toasting maiz cancha. And if you never tried them, you have lived your life in vain.
This was my very first attempt at making papas a la Huancaina, so they didn’t come out perfect. I’ll make them again and then post the recipe. I’m very constrained by N’s hatred of spicy stuff because this recipe calls for the very spicy aji amarrillo.
Clarissa's Blog 
It seems like it would be simple to make one regular strength sauce and then have the least amount of aji amarillo for taste for N & the kids’ portion. Or am I underestimating the difficulty (or how much N hates heat)?
LikeLike
I just ate the peppers on their own, like dessert. You can always know a high blood pressure sufferer by the amount of heat they devour.
LikeLike
Heh. I don’t eat anything hotter than banana peppers or jalepenos raw. You could try eating birds’ eye chilis raw if you find them (they are so expensive now). I enjoy eating
hot pepper bajjis, but I’m sure you want to avoid the labor and consumption of fried food.
LikeLike
Five years into my relationship with my partner and I still have not gotten the hang of papa a la huancaina. At least, it is never as good as when his mother makes it (apparently, she adds quinoa to it, but I have also tried that and it was almost inedible). I can cook quite a few Peruvian dishes and consider myself a good home cook, so it is frustrating!
Cancha is the best. I can’t wait until my daughter gets a little older so I can share it with her.
LikeLike
Quinoa! That is very interesting.
LikeLike
What kind of cheese do you use? I’m assuming that llama cheese is not especially common in Illinois/Missouri….
Checking the internet a little I think the kind with peanuts (I mentioned earlier) is from Bolivia, when I had it it was made by a woman from Northern Chile (used to be Bolivia).
It’s also very good (but so, so, sooooooo heavy).
LikeLike
I saw the recipe with peanut butter but it seemed too daring. I used feta and that was a mistake because feta turned out to be very salty. And I had no idea because I never eat it.
LikeLike