Our Peruvian macaroni and cheese with spicy sauce recipe is just hot enough, with a flavor punch that will leave you wanting more. Delicious and creamy
Course Main Course
Cuisine Peruvian
Keyword Easy Peruvian, pasta, vegetarian
Prep Time 20 minutesminutes
Cook Time 15 minutesminutes
Servings 4people
Calories 535kcal
Equipment
Blender
Ingredients
For the Huancaina Sauce or Cheese Sauce:
6Peruvian yellow peppers (ají amarillo) or ½ cup aji amarillo paste
½onion
2tablespoonoil
1 ½cupqueso fresco(fresh cheese)
¾cupevaporated milk
3soda crackersone package, 30 g. approx.
Salt and black pepper to taste
For the pasta au gratin:
500gramspastaMacaroni type
1.5literwater
1teaspoonsalt
2tablespoonoil
1cupqueso frescograted
Instructions
Preheat the oven, with heat above 180°C/320°F. Peel the onion, and cut it into cubes of approximately two centimeters in diameter. Remove the stem from the yellow peppers, and cut them crosswise in half. With a teaspoon extract the seeds and the light-colored veins. Cut the peppers into approximately 3 cm pieces as well.
Place the oil in a frying pan, turn on the stove over medium heat, and when it is very hot add the onion, and the Peruvian yellow pepper, chopped into pieces. Cook for about six to ten minutes, until the onion and peppers begin to brown. Turn off the kitchen.
In the blender glass, add the fresh cheese, the chopped soda crackers, and the onions and browned peppers. Add the evaporated milk and blend at maximum speed for at least three minutes.
Beat for three minutes more. The sauce should be a nice and smooth consistency. If you liquefy it for a short time, it can be sandy. Taste the sauce, and if necessary, add salt and pepper*. Place the sauce in a bowl, and store it in the fridge while you cook the pasta.
To cook the macaroni, fill a pot with enough water, add salt and oil. Bring it to the stove over high heat. When the water is bubbling to a boil, add the pasta and cook for up to four minutes. Prick the pasta with a fork, it must be "al dente", or maybe a little hard yet (It will finish cooking in the oven).
Strain the macaroni through a pasta strainer and place it in a refractory container. Cover them with the huancaina sauce, and stir so that the macaroni is impregnated with the sauce.
Sprinkle all the grated fresh cheese on top and bake, on top for about ten minutes, until the cheese is gratin. You will get perfect Peruvian Mac n Cheese. If you like, you can serve them on their own, with a little cilantro on top, or with a piece of roast beef and hard-boiled eggs.
Notes
* Some fresh cheeses can be very salty, so try to season the sauce when the cheese is already mixed in.