A traditional La Paz Holy Week dish of potatoes and corn covered with a sauce of criollo cheese, fava beans, yellow chili, milk, and huacatay, finished with hard-boiled egg. The cheese softens without disappearing into the sauce, leaving it warm, yellow, and herbal; breaking the first potato into it makes its enduring place on La Paz tables easy to understand.
Turn what you find into an experience you can actually bring to your kitchen.
Place the white potatoes and corn in a pot with all the water and one quarter of the salt. Boil moderately for 20 to 22 minutes, until the potatoes are tender through the center and the corn kernels remain whole and juicy. During the final 10 minutes, add the eggs in their shells to the same pot. Remove everything, peel the eggs, and cut them in half.
While the accompaniments cook, finely chop the red onion and remove the seeds and thick veins from the yellow chili before chopping it small. Heat the vegetable oil in a medium pot, add the onion, and cook for 5 minutes, until softened. Add the ground garlic and chili and cook for another 4 minutes, stirring often, until the chili is tender and no longer smells raw.
Add the fresh fava beans to the aderezo and cook for 2 minutes. Pour in the fresh milk, reduce to medium-low heat, and cook for 6 to 7 minutes at the gentlest simmer, until the beans are tender. Add the remaining salt and taste before adding the cheese, since the criollo cheese will contribute additional salinity.
Cut the criollo cheese into medium cubes and chop the huacatay. Add both to the sauce and cook over low heat for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring gently, until the cheese is hot, soft around the edges, and just beginning to melt while still retaining recognizable pieces. Do not let the milk boil vigorously.
Place a portion of potato and corn on each plate, cover generously with the cheese-and-fava-bean sauce, and finish with half a hard-boiled egg. The finished dish should leave plenty of sauce around the potatoes while still showing intact cheese cubes and visible fava beans; serve immediately while hot. Done! 🧀
