Peruvian Causa Sampler
Ingredients:
- Causa limeña (yellow potato dough)
- Escabeche de pescado sauce
- 1 each tomato
- 1 each avocado
- Ocopa sauce
- 1 each quail egg
- Causa nikei (red potato dough)
- Tuna tartar
- Rocoto emulsion
- Nori
- Micro wasabi
- Causa Olivia (green potato dough)
- Grilled octopus
- Avocado filling
- Olive cream
Causa Limeña (yellow potato dough)
- 2 pounds Idaho® potatoes, cooked and pressed
- 4 ounces aji amarillo paste
- 2 each limes, juice of
- 2 ounces canola oil
- Salt to taste
Escabeche de Pescado Sauce
- 1 pound halibut or fluke, filleted and skinned
- 1 cup flour
- 1 pound red onion, julienned
- 3 ounces aji amarillo, julienned
- 1/2 ounce cooked garlic paste
- 2 ounces aji panca paste
- 4 fluid ounces red wine vinegar
- 1 ounce honey
- 1/2 teaspoon cloves
- 1 each bay leaf
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1 cup fish stock
- Olive oil as needed
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
Ocopa Sauce
- 5 each aji mirasol, seeds and veins removed
- 1 each garlic clove
- 3 ounces roasted peanuts
- 5 each Huacatay (Andean mint) leaves
- 2 ounces animal cookies
- 8 fluid ounces canola oil
- 5 ounces queso fresco
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
- 1 each lime, juiced
Causa Nikei (red potato dough)
- 2 pounds Idaho® potatoes, cooked and pressed
- 4 ounces rocoto, blended
- 2 each limes, juiced
- 2 fluid ounces canola oil
- Salt to taste
Tuna Tartare
- 16 ounces tuna belly or chopped tuna
- 2 ounces smoked salmon
- 4 ounces chopped red onion
- 2 ounces sweet chili sauce
- 5 ounces mayonnaise
- 1/5 fluid ounce shichimi togarashi
- 1/5 fluid ounce sesame oil
- Salt to taste
Rocoto Emulsion
- 3 ounces rocoto paste
- 5 fluid ounces canola oil
- 1 ounce red onion
- Salt to taste
- Lime juice to taste
- Causa Olivia (green potato dough)
- 2 pounds Idaho® potato (cooked and pressed)
- 2 ounces aji amarillo, blended
- 2 ounces basil puree
- 2 each limes, juiced
- 2 fluid ounces canola oil
- Salt to taste
Grilled Octopus
- 1 pound cooked octopus
- 1 cup olive oil
- 4 each crushed garlic cloves
- 5 ounces pimiento peppers, jarred, sliced
Avocado Filling
- 5 ounces avocado, chopped
- 2 each eggs, hard-boiled and chopped
- 1 each red bell pepper, roasted and chopped
- 4 ounces mayonnaise
- Salt to taste
- Lime juice to taste
Olive cream
- 5 ounces black pitted olives
- 10 ounces mayonnaise
- Salt to taste
- Lime juice to taste
Directions:
- Roll the three different causa doughs into three separate cylinders, and put on a serving plate. Cut the cylinders into 1 1/2-inch sections and put one of each type on a large plate spaced apart.
- For the causa limeña (yellow causa), top dough with avocado and half of a tomato. Add the fried fish. Drizzle with escabeche sauce. Next to the causa, drizzle the ocopa sauce. Hard-boil quail egg, peel and halve or quarter. Garnish with egg and cilantro.
- For the causa roja (red causa), top dough with avocado and nikei filling. Drizzle with rocoto emulsion. Garnish with nori (seaweed) and micro wasabi.
- For the causa verde (green causa), top dough with avocado and egg. Add grilled octopus and peppers. Hard-boil quail egg, peel and halve or quarter. Garnish with egg and drizzle with olive cream.
Causa Limeña (yellow potato dough)
- Mix the potato, aji amarillo paste, lime juice, and canola oil in a bowl. Knead together and add salt to taste.
Escabeche de Pescado Sauce
- Cut fish into 1-inch cubes and season with salt and pepper. Coat fish with flour.
- In a deep sauté pan, heat canola oil to 350 degrees F. Add fish and fry until it is crunchy but juicy inside, about 1-2 minutes.
- Sauté garlic paste and aji panca in olive oil for several minutes.
- Add the aji amarillo and onion, then stir in honey, cloves, bay leaf and oregano leaf. Season with salt, pepper and cumin.
- Add the vinegar and fish stock, bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
Ocopa sauce
- Soak aji mirasol in water; drain.
- Add 1 tablespoon of canola oil to a hot pan and sauté aji mirasol and garlic. Leave on low heat.
- Add peanuts and 2 leaves of huacatay, and let the mixture cook for a couple of minutes.
- Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool. Blend the mixture with animal cracker cookies, any remaining oil and 1/4 cup water.
- Season with salt and lime juice. Serve cold.
Causa Nikei (red potato dough)
- Mix the potato, rocoto, lime juice and canola oil in a bowl and knead. Add salt to taste.
Tuna Tartare
- Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Add salt to taste.
- Rocoto Emulsion
- Blend red onion and rocoto paste in a blender on low speed, slowly adding oil until the mixture emulsifies and has the texture of mayonnaise. Season to taste with salt and lime juice.
Causa Olivia
- Mix the potato, aji amarillo, lime juice and oil ina bowl and knead
Grilled Octopus
- Slice the octopus and marinate in olive oil and crushed garlic.
- Briefly sauté octopus and pimiento peppers together in hot pan. Serve warm.
Avocado Filling
- Mix all ingredients in a bowl and chill.
Olive Cream
- Blend olives in a blender with mayonnaise until smooth. Season with salt and lime juice.