Potatoes are used in a great majority of our dishes, if not almost all. This carbohydrate has different shapes, sizes, colors and flavors. That is why there are several types of potatoes. Our country is the largest grower of potatoes in Latin America.
Every dish requires different potatoes. For example, mashed potatoes require the most floury potato which is named the yellow potato. This one is also used to thicken soups and any type of stew such as locro with meat.
Besides accompanying most main dishes, potatoes also delight as a snack before you eat lunch. In the streets, people savor a portion of potato with egg or a rocoto pepper stuffed with potato to satisfy the hunger of the moment.
In our homes, potatoes are also prepared with aji peppers to satisfy the hunger that appears between ten and eleven in the morning. Our moms and wives quickly wash potatoes and set them to boil. The especially cook up the macttillo potato which grows in the puna, the high grasslands. Then they make a traditional green pepper sauce and to please the family using the typical phrase that is: “guys come and eat your potatoes with aji to kill your hunger because lunch will be late.”
When young people are on school holidays this snack is made constantly. The pleasant combination of the potato with hot pepper sauce captivates the youngest members of the household.
Whether served with cheese, avocado, eggs, peppers or other things, the boiled potato is always pleasant to taste and to share with all those around us.
