Causa with Chef Rafael Piqueras
Crunchy Causa with king crab topping and avocado sauce
Chef Rafael Piqueras cut his culinary teeth in Europe at Antica Osteria del Teatro in Italy and several Spanish restaurants including Giuda, El Celler de Can Roca as well as a stint under Chef Ferran Adria’s tutelage at El Bulli.
The restaurant is one of Lima’s top Peruvian fusion restaurants, and is located in the Westin Hotel. Piqueras named the restaurant, Maras, after one of his favourite ingredients – the flavourful pink salt mined and used for six centuries by the villagers of Maras in the Sacred Valley.
Ingredients:
For the ‘causa’ mashed potato:
1kg yellow potatoes
½ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup lemon juice
½ cup ‘aji amarillo’ chilli paste
1 beaten egg
½ cup flour
1 cup ground bread
Salt, to taste
For the Avocado sauce:
1 ripe avocado
1 lemon, juiced
½ cup milk
Salt, to taste
For the king crab topping:
250ml mayonnaise
200g king crab meat
Method:
• For the ‘causa’ mashed potato:
• Place the potatoes in a large pot of cold water. Boil until cooked. Peel off the skins and mash until a fine puree.
• Mix the mashed potatoes with the chilli paste, lemon juice, vegetable oil and salt.
• Form into small portions of approx. 25g each. Coat them with a mix of flour, beaten egg and ground bread, and set aside.
• Just prior to serving fry the pieces of causa into a hot oil at about 180C until golden brown and crispy.
For the avocado sauce:
• Put all the ingredients into a blender. Blend well and set aside.
For the king crab topping:
• In a container shred the king crab meat and mix with the mayonnaise.
Assembly:
Place the pieces of fried causa on a large flat dish, place a little of the king crab/mayonnaise mix on the top of each one and decorate with the avocado sauce. Garnish with chopped parsley.