波塔toes and Summer Squash with Black Mint Sauce Recipe

By
Max Falkowitz
Max Falkowitz is a contributing writer at Serious Eats.
Max Falkowitz
Max Falkowitz is a food and travel writer from Queens. From 2012 to 2015 he worked at Serious Eats, first as New York editor and later as features editor. He's also the co-author of the Dumpling Galaxy Cookbook with Helen You, and the author of the trivia game Taste Test: 200 Trivia Questions for Food Nerds.
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Updated Aug. 30, 2018
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Thick, creamy, intensely-spiced sauces are an essential component of Peruvian cooking. Dairy, usually some combination of milk and fresh cheese, is blended with flavorful herbs or chiles as well as thickeners like bread, crackers, and nuts. Black mint sauce is one of these canonical sauces. It's traditionally made with huacatay, a mint-like herb that's a member of the marigold family. Black peppermint isn't huacatay, but it's more commonly available in some places and makes for a decent substitute.

Here is my version of black mint sauce, kept on the simple side. You can spoon it on roast chicken, or, as I've done here, on thinly sliced potatoes (another Peruvian staple) and zucchini for a light summery dish. I've opted to useaji amarillo, a mother chile in Peruvian cooking. If you can't find it, a bright chile likealeppoor cayenne would do. The amount here will lend a tinge of chile heat and flavor, but feel free to add more. Alternately, this dish loves some hot sauce—I add plenty tableside.

Black mint is stronger and less floral than typical mint. You can get a rough substitute by combining three parts mint to one part cilantro.

Recipe Facts

Active:40 mins
Total:40 mins
Serves:4 servings

Rate & Comment

华体会应用下载

  • 1cupblack mint leaves, packed

  • 3aji amarillochiles, seeded (if using dried chiles, soak for 20 minutes in hot water)

  • 1/2poundfarmer's cheese, cotija, or feta

  • 6clovesgarlic, peeled

  • 3/4cuphalf-and-half orevaporated milk

  • 1teaspoonlemon juice

  • 4tablespoonsolive oil, divided

  • 4largezucchini, sliced 1/4 inch thick

  • 1 1/2poundswaxy potatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick

  • Salt

Directions

  1. Combine black mint, chiles, cheese, garlic, half-and-half, and lemon juice in food processor. Pulse until mixture forms a smooth sauce. Add salt to taste and set aside. Makes about 2 cups of sauce.

  2. In a 12-inch sauté pan, heat two tablespoons oil on medium heat until shimmering, then add potatoes. Gently cook, stirring frequently so to avoid sticking, until potatoes are just cooked through, about ten minutes. Add salt to taste, and remove to a bowl with tongs or a slotted spoon, leaving oil in pan.

  3. Increase heat to high and add two remaining tablespoons oil. Add zucchini and cook over high heat until lightly caramelized around edges, about five minutes. Salt to taste, then return potatoes to pan and cook one additional minute. Serve and top with black mint sauce, and hot sauce if desired.

Special Equipment

Food processor

This Recipe Appears In

Nutrition Facts(per serving)
439 Calories
23g Fat
46g Carbs
14g Protein
Show Full Nutrition LabelHide Full Nutrition Label
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 439
% Daily Value*
Total Fat23g 30%
Saturated Fat 7g 34%
Cholesterol26mg 9%
Sodium593mg 26%
Total Carbohydrate46g 17%
Dietary Fiber 6g 23%
Total Sugars 11g
Protein14g
Vitamin C 65mg 326%
Calcium 306mg 24%
Iron 3mg 17%
波塔ssium 1882mg 40%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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