Peruvian Causa de Camarones
This classic Peruvian dish consists of layers of seasoned mashed potatoes, shrimp salad, hard-boiled egg slices, avocado, olives and pink sauce or salsa golf.
Servings 4
Ingredients
- 900 grams of yellow potatoes Yukon Gold
- 5 tbsp of mild yellow Peruvian (aji amarillo) chili paste adjust to taste
- 1 lemon
- 250 grams of cooked medium-sized shrimp peeled and deveined – you can use raw shrimp (see cooking instructions below) or buy them already cooked
- 1 small red onion or half a large red onion, 60g
- 1 small sweet red bell pepper or half a large red bell pepper, 60g
- ½ cup Salsa Rosada also called pink sauce or Salsa golf – (mayonnaise + ketchup)
- 1 tsp chopped cilantro – optional
- 2 hard-boiled eggs peeled
- 1 large avocado or 2 small ones
- Salt and pepper to taste
For garnish or decorating:
- Peruvian purple olives
- Additional shrimp, additional hard-boiled egg (chopped or sliced), and additional avocado slices
- Extra salsa rosada
- Chili pepper slices – optional and to taste
Instructions
- Wash the potatoes thoroughly, do not peel them. Place them in a large pot with plenty of water and boil them until they are tender. You will know that the potatoes are cooked when you poke them with a knife or it goes through easily. Remove them from the pot, let them cool down a bit and carefully peel them. Then cut them in half and mash them with a potato masher. You can use a potato ricer or even mash them carefully with a fork. It is very important that there are no lumps.
- Add the Aji Amarillo paste (start with a couple of tbs and taste as you mix and add more). Also add the half of the lemon juice to the mashed potatoes. Stir very well until the puree is smooth. Taste and add a pinch of salt if necessary, you can also add extra chili paste if you want.
- If you bought raw shrimp and need to cook them, you can prepare them by poaching them in a little water. My favorite method for cooking shrimp is to bring ~1 cup of water to a boil, which you can season with a clove of garlic, a little lemon juice, salt, and a sprig of cilantro. When boiling, put the raw shrimp in the water and lower the temperature to as low as possible. Cover and let the shrimp cook for about 5 minutes or until they are pink. You can stir them occasionally. You want them to be perfectly cooked without overcooking (because they become rubbery and chewy). When they are ready, I transfer them to a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking.
- Peel the red onion and dice it or cut it into very small cubes. Also remove the veins and seeds from the red bell pepper, cut into long thin slices and then dice it finely.
- Chop the shrimp into small pieces. You can reserve some to decorate the top of the causas.
- Cut the hard-boiled eggs into slices, if you prefer you can also chop them into small cubes.
- To prepare the shrimp salad, in a medium sized bowl place the chopped shrimp, most of the pink sauce (save some to decorate the top of the causa), the diced red onion, the diced red pepper, and the chopped cilantro (if you want to use it). Mix everything together, Taste and add salt/pepper if necessary.
- To assemble the Peruvian causas you will need a round ring mold – or a square one if you prefer. If you don't have a ring mold, you can use a large can of tomato paste, from which you remove the lid and base. You can also use a ramekin or small cake mold and line it with plastic wrap.
- Place the mold of your choice directly on the serving plate. Add about three or four tablespoons of mashed potatoes, and using a spoon flatten and compact the mixture.
- Peel the avocado and cut it into very thin slices. Sprinkle the slices with a few drops of lemon. Place a layer of avocado slices on top of the first layer of mashed potatoes.
- Another option is to mash the avocado and put a layer of mashed avocado in place of the avocado slices.
- Add about three tablespoons of shrimp salad on top of the avocados. Flatten and compact gently with a spoon.
- Then add the hard-boiled egg slices. You can change the order of the layers to your liking.
- Finally, add two tablespoons of mashed potatoes as the final layer, compacting by pressing down with a spoon.
- Carefully remove the mold and decorate the top of the causa with olives, whole shrimp, egg pieces or avocado. You can also add a little additional pink sauce on top of each causa.
