Best And Unique Peruvian Food Recipe Causa Norteña

Peruvian food is filled with contrasting flavors, exotic ingredients and nutritious elements that create a balanced diet. We can find the perfect example of all this in Peruvian stews, and one delicious stew is theCausa Norteña. This colourful recipe is created with different tubers like potatoes, sweet potatoes and yams, corn and its very characteristic salty fish. 

Keep reading to find out more about Causa Norteña and the whole recipe to create this delicious dish. 

What we know about Causa Norteña

If you’re not familiar with Peruvian gastronomy, we should tell you upfront that Causa is one of the most popular dishes in the country, thanks to potatoes being such an essential food in Peru.

Causa is so traditional that it even dates back to the 1700’s, and over time many variations of the original recipe was invented according to the ingredients people had at hand.  

Causa Norteña, also known as Causa Ferreñefana, has been around in the Northern Peruvian region for the last decades, already being a part of the food culture.

This recipe forCausa Norteña takes about a day and 30 minutes to prepare and another 25 minutes to cook, and with the ingredients provided it should serve for about 4 big portions. 

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Ingredients for Causa Norteña

• 1 large fillet of salty fish or cod fish
• 1 ½ white potatoes
• ½ kg of white, large onions (1.1 lb)
• ½ kg of sweet potatoes or yuca (1.1 lb)
• ½ kg of yams or camote (1.1 lb)
• 2 large yellow corn cobs
• 1 large green plantain banana (boiled)
• 6 large green peppers
• 4 large garlic cloves minced or garlic powder (you can getgarlic powder here)
• 1 tablespoon of ají panca paste (you can buyají panca paste here) (15 ml)
• 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil (45 ml)
• 1 cup of white vinegar (235 ml) 
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste

Preparation

• One day before you prepare this recipe forCausa Norteña, take the salty fish fillet and soak it in plenty of water. This will make the fish to lighten its salty taste a bit. 

• Take the white potatoes and boil them in water until they’re tender enough. Take them out of the water and mash them with a fork until it forms mashed potatoes. Add some pepper, vegetable oil and just a bit of salt, remember the fish by itself is salty enough. 

• Take the yams and slice them in medium size slices, then put them on a pot filled with water and boil on medium temp. 

• Take the sweet potatoes and slice them in medium size slices, put them on the same pot where the yams are and let them cook.

• Take the green plantain and slice it in medium size slices, put them on the same pot where the other ingredients are to cook.

• Cut the yellow corn cobs in 1” pieces and toss the corn pieces into the same pot to cook until they become tender. 

• Chop the white onion in thick pieces.

• Prepare a dressing using the white onion pieces, the garlic either minced or in powder,ají panca paste, vinegar and some pepper. 

• After soaking for a day, take the salty fish fillet and cook it on water. When the fish is done take a medium skillet and pour vegetable oil, set on high temp. Fry the fish for a couple of minutes.

• When the fish is starting to fry, add the seasonings you made with onion, garlic, ají panca, etc.

• To serve, place a bed of mashed potatoes in the center of a plate, and then carefully place the salty fish fillet along with the onion sauce. 

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You can enjoy yourCausa Norteña with side dishes you prepared with sweet potatoes, yams, corn pieces and green plantains sliced and boiled.

The ingredients mentioned above are part of the classic recipe, and if you want extra flavor you can also boil some eggs or even pour some fresh olives on your dish.

The strong taste of all the ingredients is a delicacy that needs to be shared with friends and family on a filling dinner. 

If you enjoy complex recipes with exotic flavors you have to prepare this recipe, it will wow everyone who tries it and it will leave you wanting more Peruvian food!

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