Fettuccine a la huancaína
Fettuccine a la huancaína is a delicious Peruvian fusion dish that combines the creamy and spicy salsa a la Huancaína, a traditional Peruvian sauce, with Italian-style fettuccine pasta. The dish is a creative blend of Italian culinary influence in Peru with one of the country's most famous sauces.
The pasta component is usually fettuccine, a flat, thick noodle made from egg and flour, which pairs well with creamy sauces. The pasta is cooked al dente and serves as the base of the dish. The signature feature of this dish is the huancaína sauce, which originates from the city of Huancayo in the Peruvian highlands.
It is typically made from aji amarillo (a yellow chili pepper native to Peru), queso fresco (fresh white cheese), evaporated milk, garlic, and, sometimes, saltines or bread to thicken the sauce. Read more
The result is a creamy, slightly spicy, and flavorful sauce with a distinctive yellow color. The first step in the preparation is to cook the pasta and drain it. Meanwhile, the huancaína sauce is made by blending aji amarillo, cheese, garlic, and evaporated milk until smooth and creamy.
The sauce is then gently heated and poured over the cooked fettuccine, combining the creaminess of the sauce with the richness of the pasta. The dish is nowadays often served either with a piece of lomito al jugo (beef in a juice, stewed and stir-fried with onion and tomato) or lomo saltado (stir-fried marinated slices of sirloin or beef tenderloin, onions, yellow Peruvian chilis, and tomatoes).
