Ocopa (Peruvian Potato with Spiced Peanut Sauce)

About This Recipe

Ocopa is a specialty of Arequipa in southern Peru, featuring boiled potatoes covered in a distinctive golden-green sauce made from huacatay (a Peruvian herb sometimes called black mint), toasted peanuts or walnuts, aji amarillo, and often crumbled crackers or biscuits to thicken it, resulting in a rich, herbaceous, mildly spicy sauce unlike anything found outside Peruvian cuisine. It's typically served cold as a starter, the potatoes acting as a neutral canvas for the vividly flavored sauce. The technique that defines ocopa is building the sauce in a blender: huacatay, toasted peanuts, aji amarillo, garlic, and often a bit of evaporated milk or queso fresco are blended together until smooth, with the crumbled crackers helping thicken the mixture to a spreadable, sauce-like consistency without becoming pasty. The sauce should taste bright and herbaceous first, with the peanuts and aji amarillo providing body and warmth underneath. Served over boiled potato slices, garnished with hard-boiled egg and olives, ocopa is a beloved Arequipeño specialty, showcasing Peru's distinctive combination of native herbs, chiles, and nuts in a sauce unlike anything from neighboring cuisines.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 6 mediumpotatoes(boiled and sliced)
• 1 cuphuacatay leaves(or substitute basil and mint mixed)
• 0.75 cuproasted peanuts
• 2 tbspaji amarillo paste
• 2 clovesgarlic
• 0.33 cupevaporated milk
• 3 tbspneutral oil
• 2saltine crackers(crumbled)
• 0.75 tspsalt
• 2hard-boiled eggs(sliced, for garnish)
• 0.25 cupblack olives(for garnish)
• 1 headlettuce(leaves separated, for serving)

Instructions

1. 1

   Boil the potatoes

   Boil potatoes whole until fork-tender, about 20 minutes. Cool, peel if desired, and slice.

2. 2

   Blend the sauce

   Combine huacatay, peanuts, aji amarillo paste, garlic, evaporated milk, oil, crumbled crackers, and salt in a blender.

3. 3

   Blend until smooth

   Blend until the mixture forms a smooth, thick, pourable sauce, adding a splash more milk if too thick.

4. 4

   Assemble

   Line a plate with lettuce leaves. Arrange sliced potatoes on top.

5. 5

   Sauce and garnish

   Spoon the ocopa sauce generously over the potatoes. Garnish with sliced hard-boiled egg and olives.

6. 6

   Serve

   Serve cold or at room temperature as a starter.

Variations

• •

  Use walnuts instead of peanuts for a different, equally traditional version of the sauce.

• •

  Add a small amount of queso fresco to the blended sauce for extra creaminess.

• •

  Serve with boiled yuca instead of potato for a variation on the starchy base.

Storage

Refrigerate sauce and potatoes separately up to 3 days in airtight containers; combine just before serving to keep the potatoes from becoming overly soft.

Frequently Asked Questions