Salsa a la huancaína - The Veggie Table

A spicy sauce from the Huancayo region of Peru traditionally made with fresh cheese. This vegan version relies on nutritional yeast instead.
Yield	about 2 cups
Time	20 minutes
Tools	large saucepan medium bowl whisk immersion blender
Ingredients	4 t peanut or vegetable oil 1 clove garlic, minced 1 small yellow onion, minced 1½ c vegetable broth 3 T chickpea flour 2 T ají amarillo paste* ½ t salt 2/3 c nutritional yeast ¾ c cashew cream 2 T lemon juice ¼ c plain cracker crumbs
Directions	Heat the oil over medium heat, add onion and garlic, and sauté about 4 minutes, until soft. Meanwhile, whisk together the broth, flour, and paste, then add to the onions. Simmer, stirring frequently, until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and cook another 2-3 minutes. Turn off heat and blend until creamy and smooth. Taste and add more salt and/or lemon, as needed. Serve hot over cooked potatoes or mixed vegetables.
Notes	*Ají amarillo is a hot, yellow or orange Peruvian chile and is the key to this sauce. You can try substituting another kind of pepper, but what you end up with won’t be salsa a la huancaína. (Full disclosure: I don’t like spicy food, so I used roasted yellow bell pepper paste, and my sauce was definitely lacking in taste – and color.) Adapted from the recipe in Viva Vegan! (read my review). Buy it: Amazon.com \| Amazon.co.uk
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