Ocopa

Ingredients

Potatoes

• 1 kgyellow or waxy potatoes
• salt

Sauce

• 1large bunch huacatay, black Andean mint
• 3ají amarillo, deseeded
• 1ají panca, or 1 tbsp panca paste
• 2onions, in thick slices
• 4 clovesgarlic, unpeeled
• 150 groasted peanuts
• 200 gqueso fresco
• 150 mlevaporated milk
• 4cream crackers or 2 slices stale bread
• 3 tbspoil
• salt

To serve

• hard-boiled eggs
• black olives
• lettuce leaves
• boiled corn

Directions

1. Lay the thick onion slices, the unpeeled garlic and the whole chillies in a dry hot pan and char them on both sides until blackened in patches. This dry charring is the Arequipa picantería method and it is not the same as frying.
2. Take them properly dark in places rather than merely soft. Peel the garlic once cool and deseed the chillies.
3. Fry the deseeded ají amarillo and panca in a little oil for 2 minutes to bring out their colour. Blend the charred onion, garlic, chillies, peanuts, crackers, cheese and huacatay with the evaporated milk.
4. Blend it until completely smooth, adding more milk until it is thick but pourable, like double cream. It must be smooth. Add the huacatay last and blend it only briefly. Blend the herb in at the end and stop as soon as it disperses, or the sauce goes dull olive instead of bright green.
5. Season with salt and taste, adjusting the chilli. Boil the potatoes whole in their skins in salted water until tender, about 20 minutes, then peel them while warm.
6. Boil them in their skins so they do not take on water, which makes them watery and bland under the sauce. Slice them thickly and arrange them on lettuce leaves on a platter.
7. Pour the sauce generously over the warm potatoes, covering them completely. The potatoes should be warm and the sauce cool or at room temperature, which is the traditional contrast. Garnish with halved boiled eggs and black olives.

Technique

• Huacatay is sold frozen or as a paste in Latin shops and is far better than dried.
• The sauce keeps three days in the fridge and thickens, so loosen it with milk.
• Some cooks add a few shrimp or a little dried shrimp to the sauce.

Substitutions

• Huacatay paste in place of fresh leaves.
• Feta or a mild firm white cheese for queso fresco.

Variations

• Papa a la huancaína, the yellow cousin without huacatay.
• With walnuts in place of some peanuts.
• Served over boiled yuca instead of potato.

History

An Arequipa picanteria dish; huacatay, the black Andean mint, gives the sauce its green colour and pungency.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ocopa?

Ocopa is a salad & side from Peru: boiled potatoes under a sauce of huacatay, aji, peanuts and cheese. An Arequipa picanteria dish; huacatay, the black Andean mint, gives the sauce its green colour and pungency.

How long does Ocopa take to make?

Ocopa takes 30 min of preparation and 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 6 servings. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Ocopa?

Yes, within limits. Huacatay paste in place of fresh leaves. Feta or a mild firm white cheese for queso fresco.

What is the most important thing to get right in Ocopa?

Lay the thick onion slices, the unpeeled garlic and the whole chillies in a dry hot pan and char them on both sides until blackened in patches. This dry charring is the Arequipa picantería method and it is not the same as frying.