Causa is a cold, layered, potato salad from Peru. While it is just as tasty no matter how it is arranged on the plate, traditional causa’s colorful layers lend themselves to spectacular presentation. This is a simplified chicken causa from the University of Illinois Extension Service.
Ingredients: [‘yellow potatoes’, ‘chili pepper’, ‘lemon’, ‘vegetable oil’, ‘salt’, ‘skinless chicken breasts’, ‘red onion’, ‘reduced-calorie mayonnaise’, ‘lettuce leaf’, ‘olive’, ‘parsley’]
Quantity of Ingredients: [“2 lbs yellow potatoes, peeled and boiled “,”1 cup chili pepper, minced (yellow aji)”,”1 lemon”,” vegetable oil (if needed)”,”1 teaspoon salt”,”2 skinless chicken breasts, cooked (10-12 ounces)”,”1 red onion, chopped “,”1 cup reduced-calorie mayonnaise”,” lettuce leaf”,” olive”,” parsley”]
Number of Servings: 6
Steps: [‘Mash the potatoes. Allow potatoes to cool until they are comfortable to handle.’, ‘Mix the potatoes with the peppers, salt and juice from half a lemon. Knead until it forms a smooth paste. If the potatoes don’t stick together well, add a trickle of vegetable oil and continue kneading until it sticks.’, ‘In a separate container, season the onion with salt and juice from half a lemon.’, ‘In another container, shred the chicken and mix it with half the mayonnaise.’, ‘Separate the potato and chili mixture into portions. For a simple presentation, form into a flat mound on a salad plate. For a more elaborate causa, use a round metal spring mold (or a soup can with both ends cut out).’, ‘Cover with a layer of the onion mixture.’, ‘Cover with a layer of the the chicken.’, ‘(For simple presentation, use one layer of each component. For elaborate presentation, use multiple thinner layers, ending with potato on the top.).’, ‘Chill before serving. Garnish with the rest of the mayonnaise, lettuce, olives or parsley.’]