Books and Cooks Ithaca
Recipes

Vera's Peruvian Potatos

PEOPLE
Books and Cooks participants, email addresses and homepages where available.

PREVIOUS DISCUSSIONS and RATING SYSTEM
Check out some of the books we've discussed in the past, as well as our rating system and ratings for those books.

RECIPROCITY
There are lots of other book groups out there. On this page find some links to bookgroups we've had e-contact with.

BOOK LINKS
Check out this pile of book-related links.

RECIPES
Recipes of various items that have been served at meetings

Served with Love in the Time of Cholera.

Source: 'The book of Latin American Cooking', by Elisabeth Lambert Ortiz.

Ingredients (serves 6):
6 hot red dried peppers, about 1.5-2 inches long or: mirasol peppers
1/2 cup peanut oil
1 medium onion, thickly sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup walnut meats
1/4 lb Spanish fresh cheese (queso blanco or queso fresco), crumbled, or use Munster cheese
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
6 medium potatoes

Garnish:
6 hardboiled eggs, halved lengthwise
12 black olives
Lettuce leaves

Start boiling the potatoes. Remove the ends and shake the seeds out of the peppers, put them in a little bit of water, bring to a boil and let them soak. Heat the oil in a small skillet and saute the onion and the garlic over low heat until the onion is golden. Meanwhile, grind the walnuts. When the onions are done, put the contents of the skillet, the walnuts, the cheese, the milk, and the salt in a blender. When the peppers are soft, drain them, chop them finely and add them to the blender as well. Blend everything to a smooth sauce, about the consistency of a heavy mayonnaise. Add milk and oil in equal quantities to thin the sauce if necessary. Wait until the potatoes are done, then peel and halve them lengthwise. Arrange the potatoes, cut side down, on a bed of lettuce leaves. Mask the potatoes with the sauce, then garnish the dish with the eggs, cut side up, and the black olives.

Vera’s notes: “[This cookbook] was published first in 1969 and therefore always gives readily available substitutes for the more exotic ingredients. Most recipes don't take a lot of time, don't need too many ingredients, and the ones I have tried so far tasted good ☺.”

Last updated: November 21, 2000.