Potatoes/Yuca/Veggies With Vegan GF Huancaina Sauce

Vegan Huancaina Sauce, a lovely silky, creamy, and nicely but not overly spicy Peruvian sauce, is typically served over steamed potatoes. Yuca (aka cassava roots aka tapioca), Sweet Potatoes, and other vegetables are also delicious with the Huancaina sauce. Peruvians sometimes serve the sauce over french-fried potatoes or yuca. I love serving it over all sorts of veggies, steamed or roasted. The sauce and vegetables maybe prepared a day or two ahead. Store any leftovers to use later; the sauce will stay fresh for about 5-7 days..

This sauce is traditionally prepared with the wonderful a Peruvian yellow chile - aji amarillo; if it is available fresh or canned, add it instead of the Jalapeño and yellow bell pepper. Although usually not very spicy,  one can spice it up by adding more chiles or cayenne to taste.

The chickpeas and quinoa/ potatoes add body and silkiness to the sauce and the result is fabulous.

4 Servings

Ingredients:

Huancaina Sauce:

½ cup raw cashews (soaked overnight)

1 tbsp lemon juice

½ -1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 clove Garlic

1 shallot or 1/2 small Onion, chopped

½ -1 Jalapeño Chile (or more, depending on your taste)

1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup Cooked Chickpeas (Garbanzo)

½ cup cooked Potato/Quinoa, warm

1 cup unsweetened unflavored non-dairy milk or water 

¼ cup water (if needed)

Salt and pepper, to taste

To Serve:

2-4 regular Potatoes and/or 1-2 Yuca, cooked 

1 Sweet Potato, cooked
1-2 cups roasted Cauliflower Slabs

Optional Garnishes:

4 radishes

12 Kalamata Olives

3-4 handfuls Arugaula, Spinach, and/or baby Kale, or a mixture

Method:

Prepare the Huancaina Sauce: Cook the garlic, shallot, chile, and bell pepper until soft and slightly caramelized; cool. Drain and rinse the cashews. Process all the sauce ingredients using a good blender until smooth and silky; taste and add more of any ingredient necessary to get the right consistency and taste. The sauce should be thick to coat the veggies, yet pourable. Store the sauce in the fridge until needed.

Wash the yuca roots if using, cut into two or three pieces, peel both the outer bark-like brown layer and the inner thicker one and drop into a large bowl of water. Drain and rinse the cassava roots and add to a large pot of boiling salted water. Cook until the tapioca is tender but not mushy and turn off the heat. When cool enough to handle, remove the veggies from the cooking water using a slotted spoon into a colander and drain well. Break up the tapioca pieces apart into segments and remove and discard the woody cordon in the middle.

Roast or steam the potatoes and sweet potato whole or in slices, wedges, thick juliennes, etc. Keep warm. If roasted or cooked whole, slice the potatoes into thick slabs for serving.

Gently tear the greens into bite-sized pieces. 

Divide the greens among 4 plates. Arrange equal portions of both types of the potatoes, yuca slices, and the cauliflower on top of the greens, and spoon the Huancaina sauce over them. Garnish with olives and radish slices.

Enjoy!!