Ocopa Arequipeña

Ocopa is the signature dish of Arequipa, Peru's second city and home of the most sophisticated creole cuisine in the country. Cold boiled potato is blanketed in a pale orange sauce made from aji mirasol, walnuts, queso fresco, and huacatay — Peruvian black mint — creating a dish that is nutty, herbaceous, and gently fiery all at once.

Serves: 4

Ingredients

Ocopa Sauce:

• 4 dried aji mirasol chillies (or 3 tbsp aji amarillo paste)
• 80g (⅔ cup) walnuts, toasted
• 120g (4 oz) queso fresco or firm feta, crumbled
• 2 tbsp (30ml) vegetable oil
• 1 medium white onion, roughly chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, smashed
• 2 tbsp fresh huacatay (Peruvian black mint) or 1 tbsp dried huacatay
• 80ml (⅓ cup) evaporated milk
• ½ tsp salt, or to taste
• 2 soda crackers (galletas de soda), for thickening

To serve:

• 800g (1¾ lb) waxy potatoes (about 8 medium), boiled whole in salted water
• 4 hard-boiled eggs, halved
• 8 black olives (botija or Kalamata)
• 4 large lettuce leaves
• 2 tbsp fresh huacatay or flat-leaf parsley leaves

Instructions

1. Toast the aji mirasol chillies in a dry pan 1–2 minutes per side until fragrant. Remove stems and seeds, soak in warm water 20 minutes, then drain.

2. Sauté onion and garlic in vegetable oil over medium heat 8–10 minutes until golden and soft. Set aside to cool.

3. Blend softened chillies, walnuts, queso fresco, sautéed onion and garlic, huacatay, evaporated milk, and crackers until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add a splash of water if needed to achieve a pourable consistency. Season with salt. Refrigerate 30 minutes — the sauce thickens as it chills.

4. Boil potatoes whole in well-salted water 20–25 minutes until tender. Cool, peel, and slice into 1cm (½ in) rounds.

5. Arrange lettuce on plates. Lay potato slices overlapping. Pour a generous ribbon of ocopa sauce over the top.

6. Garnish with halved hard-boiled eggs, olives, and fresh huacatay leaves. Serve at room temperature.

Cook's Notes: Ocopa sauce keeps refrigerated for up to 3 days — the flavour deepens overnight. Huacatay is available frozen or dried at Latin American grocers; substitute Thai basil mixed with a little fresh mint as a last resort. The soda crackers are traditional and give the sauce its characteristic body.