Causa – Peruvian Mashed Potatoes with Chicken and Avocado
5.0 from 2 reviews
Causa – Peruvian Mashed Potatoes with Chicken and Avocado
Visiting Lima, I attended a Peruvian cooking class at SKY KITCHEN. The class was amazing! We made a classic Peruvian dish: Causa. Causa is a layered dish of mashed potatoes, chicken salad, and avocado. It’s a complete meal in one dish! And the presentation is stellar. At Sky Kitchen, I also learned how to “decorate” my food and make it visually gorgeous (along with tasting fabulous). The key to this dish is to use 2 different types of potatoes to reduce the amount of water that could be found in the mashed potatoes. Also, the Aji Amarillo molido sauce is necessary to have. If you don’t have it, you can always use a yellow chili paste. Buen Provecho!
Author: Sarah Koszyk modified Yurac's recipe
Recipe type: Appetizer, Entree
Cuisine: Peruvian
Serves: 6
Ingredients
- 1 yellow potato, peeled (no skin)
- 2 white potatoes, peeled (no skin)
- ¼ cup vegetable oil (do not use olive oil for the taste will change)
- 3-4 key limes
- 3 Tbsp Aji Amarillo molido (or you can use a yellow chili paste)
- 6 ounces of roasted/baked chicken breast (boneless/skinless) and shredded
- 4 Tbsp plain nonfat Greek yogurt (such as fa*ge or Chobani)
- 1 avocado, thinly sliced
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- Sauce ingredients:
- ½ small onion, minced
- 2 Tbsp White wine vinegar
- 1-2 Tbsp Aji Amarillo paste or a yellow bell pepper paste
- 1 Tbsp lime juice
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Instructions
Peel, slice, and cook the potatoes in boiling water for about 30 minutes. Remove from water and drain. Use a potato ricer to cut up the potatoes.- Add the lime juice, Aji Amarillo molido paste, and vegetable oil to the potatoes. Use salt & pepper to taste. Mix really well so the color is uniform. The mashed potatoes should now be yellow.
- In a separate bowl, add the yogurt to the shredded chicken and mix well.
- Add salt & pepper to taste. Slice the avocado.
- Using a metal ring (about 10 cm in diameter and 6 cm in height), start to layer the dish. First add a layer of potatoes (about the height of the tip of your pinky finger). Next add a thin layer of avocado. Next add another layer of the potato mixture and firmly press down. Now add a layer of the chicken mixture and firmly press down. Add another thin layer of avocado. Finally, add a 3rd layer of the potato mixture. And press firmly down. Remove the metal ring.
- Make the sauce. You can use a food processor and mix all the ingredients together or you can cut everything up really tiny and mix by hand. Top the potato layer with the sauce and/or add fresh cilantro to decorate. Enjoy!
Peel, slice, and cook the potatoes in boiling water for about 30 minutes. Remove from water and drain. Use a potato ricer to cut up the potatoes.
Add the lime juice, Aji Amarillo molido paste, and vegetable oil to the potatoes. Use salt & pepper to taste. Mix really well so the color is uniform. The mashed potatoes should now be yellow.
In a separate bowl, add the yogurt to the shredded chicken and mix well.
Using a metal ring (about 10 cm in diameter and 6 cm in height), start to layer the dish. First add a layer of potatoes (about the height of the tip of your pinky finger). Next add a thin layer of avocado. Next add another layer of the potato mixture and firmly press down. Now add a layer of the chicken mixture and firmly press down. Add another thin layer of avocado. Finally, add a 3rd layer of the potato mixture. And press firmly down. Remove the metal ring.Nutrition Information
Serving size:1 mold Calories:286.8 Fat:11.3 Saturated fat:1.9 Carbohydrates:35.1 Sugar:4.0 Sodium:34.2 Fiber:3.6 Protein:13.4 Cholesterol:25.5
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9 Comments
VeronicaApril 9, 2017 at 10:34 pm - Reply
should this recipe be refrigerated or heated when served?
Sarah Koszyk, MA, RDNApril 13, 2017 at 2:03 am - Reply
You can serve it at room temperature or heat it. Thanks for checking Veronica!
RidaDecember 22, 2017 at 8:27 am - Reply
Hi, the sauce , which items from recipe are for that, I making it for christmas eve dinner for special person.
Sarah Koszyk, MA, RDNDecember 22, 2017 at 5:14 pm - Reply
The sauce ingredients are the last 6 ingredients on the list. And there’s directions to make the sauce too! Enjoy. It’s Delish! The sauce has the onion, white wine vinegar, yellow bell peppers (or Aji Amarillo paste), lime juice, oil, and salt and pepper. Buen provecho!
SunitaJuly 11, 2018 at 10:03 pm - Reply
I had this preparation at a Peruvian restaurant in Goa and was completely blown off.
Your receipe too looks exactly the same.
Will try this weekend and tell v you the results.
SunitaSarah Koszyk, MA, RDNJuly 12, 2018 at 6:51 pm - Reply
Awesome! It’s not too hard to make. As long as you can find the ingredients like the aji. But there’s the substitution too. Hope you enjoy!
Gourmet Dinner Club | Peruvian | Salt JarSeptember 29, 2019 at 6:04 pm - Reply
[…] and Danny brought the appetizer, this show-stopping causa with layers of potato, avocado, and chicken. Alicia also made a crunchy salsa and spicy pepper […]
SheriSeptember 27, 2022 at 10:30 pm - Reply
I adapted the recipe quite a bit for my dietary needs. It was so delicious! Thank you for this recipe. I substituted cashew yogurt for Greek yogurt, instead of potatoes I used a combination of yams and squash— Delicata squash and butternut squash—and I added sautéed mushrooms onions and garlic to the chicken salad.
Sarah Koszyk, MA, RDNOctober 14, 2022 at 7:43 am - Reply
That sounds incredible! What lovely swaps. Glad you enjoyed it!
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