Also known as Peruvian Causa Rellena (rellena meaning filled in English), Causa de Pollo is a simple, satisfying starter dish similar to causa de atún, the more common version of this yummy, creamy dish.
Mashed potatoes with mayonnaise, avocados and limes give this dish a fresh flavor. Add in ají amarillo, the famous yellow pepper from Peru, and you’ve got a side dish that shines. It’s the perfect starter or large snack and the recipe is easy to make.
Causa Limeña – Delicious Cold Appetizer From Peru
A starter dish of chicken, layered potatoes, limes, with a topping of olives, peppers, and egg. Perfect for hot summer days.
Servings: 6 Servings
Calories: 386kcal
Ingredients
- 4 cups yellow potatoes 700 g.
- 4 cups water 1 liter
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups chicken cooked and minced, 300 g.
- ¾ cups mayonnaise 150 g.
- 2 tablespoons black olives
- ½ cup peas 75 g.
- 1 egg
- ½ cup onion 60 g.
- 3 yellow peppers ají amarillo, 1/8 cup, 40 g.
- ¼ cup olive oil
- ½ avocado 200 g.
- 2 limes 40 g.
Instructions
- Wash the potatoes with plenty of water and peel with a vegetable peeler. Cut them into four or six parts according to their size. You should get pieces of (at most) 5 cm.
- Place them in a large saucepan with 4 cups of water and a teaspoon of salt. Cook half covered for at least 15 minutes until potatoes are soft. The way to test them is to prick them with a fork. If your fork meets little resistance, they are soft enough to puree.
- Strain the potatoes, let them drain for a few minutes.
- The best Causa Limeña meat is chicken breast. A small chicken breast gives around 300 grams of shredded chicken. Roast or boil the chicken according to your taste. Remember to add a pinch of salt and a little pepper for cooking.
- Peel the onion and chop finely.
- Boil the egg in plenty of water, and remove the shell. Cut it into thin slices.
- While the potatoes are still warm, place them in a large bowl, and with a potato masher, mash them until there are no lumps left.
- Wash the chili peppers and place them on a cutting board. Remove the stem with a sharp knife, cut crosswise and remove all the veins and seeds. Cut the chili peppers into large pieces. Don’t worry about size because they will liquefy later.
- Put the oil and peppers into the blender glass. Beat for about three minutes. The mixture will not be completely homogeneous.
- Pour the chili sauce over the mashed potatoes with a pinch of salt and mash again for a few minutes until the chili is fully blended into potatoes. Taste and if necessary, rectify with salt.
- In a mixing bowl place the shredded chicken. Make sure that all the chicken is finely chopped. Add mayonnaise, chopped onion, lime juice, and peas. Stir until all ingredients are well mixed.
- Remove the seed from the avocado, peel the skin away and cut the soft flesh into thin slices. Sprinkle a few drops of lime over the avocado slices to prevent it from turning brown.
- For the next step, the assembly of the causa rellena, use an empty can with the base and lid removed (using a can opener). If you wish, you can use a round mold or a square mold or even a glass container.
- Place the can on a flat plate and add two tablespoons of mashed potatoes. With a spoon or any other utensil that you consider convenient, press the mashed potatoes towards the bottom of the plate and flatten.
- Add a layer of avocado pieces.
- Then add three tablespoons of chicken with mayonnaise. Press down gently.
- Cover with a second layer of mashed potatoes and flatten once more. Very carefully remove the can by pulling it upwards. Repeat this procedure until you run out of ingredients. We make 6 Causas Limeñas with the ingredients listed above.
- On top of each Causa Limeña place an egg slice, a few black olives and some thin slices of yellow chili.
- Serve individually as a starter for dinner or a cold appetizer for lunch.
Nutrition
Calories: 386kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 22g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 45mg | Sodium: 682mg | Potassium: 996mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 342IU | Vitamin C: 155mg | Calcium: 53mg | Iron: 2mg
Peruvian foodie. I’ve been writing about the food of Peru for over 10 years. Read more about the Eat Peru team here
Arno
Really good and easy recipe – I made Causa Limeña de Pollo. I am used to making causa as I learned to make Causa Santa Rosa from Martin Morales recipe in his Ceviche cookbook some years ago. I had some really good causas in Lima and Cusco last year, and wanted to replicate them. You recipe was the first that popped up in my search engine DuckDuckGo when I looked for ‘Causa Pollo’ .
Thank you, everybody happy here 🙂