Boiled potatoes smothered in a creamy, herbal Peruvian sauce made from huacatay, peanuts, and aji amarillo, from Arequipa.
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.
Serves 4
Boil potatoes whole until fork-tender, about 20 minutes. Cool, peel if desired, and slice.
Combine huacatay, peanuts, aji amarillo paste, garlic, evaporated milk, oil, crumbled crackers, and salt in a blender.
Blend until the mixture forms a smooth, thick, pourable sauce, adding a splash more milk if too thick.
Line a plate with lettuce leaves. Arrange sliced potatoes on top.
Spoon the ocopa sauce generously over the potatoes. Garnish with sliced hard-boiled egg and olives.
Serve cold or at room temperature as a starter.
Use huacatay if you can find it (jarred or frozen at Peruvian grocery stores) -- it has a distinctive flavor that basil and mint alone can only approximate.
Toast the peanuts if using raw ones, which adds significant depth to the sauce's flavor.
Adjust the milk quantity to reach a sauce consistency that's thick enough to coat the potatoes but still pourable.
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.
Refrigerate sauce and potatoes separately up to 3 days in airtight containers; combine just before serving to keep the potatoes from becoming overly soft.
Ocopa is a specialty of Arequipa, a city in southern Peru renowned for its distinctive regional cuisine, and the dish showcases the pre-Columbian Andean ingredients -- huacatay, peanuts, and native chiles -- that define much of the region's traditional cooking.
Huacatay, sometimes called black mint or Peruvian marigold, is a distinctive herb central to ocopa's flavor; if unavailable, a mix of fresh basil and a small amount of mint can approximate some of its herbal character, though the flavor won't be identical.
Yes -- the sauce keeps well refrigerated for a few days; just give it a good stir before serving, as it may separate slightly while sitting.
It's traditionally served cold or at room temperature, making it an excellent make-ahead dish for gatherings.
Per serving (260g / 9.2 oz) · 4 servings total
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