Marleen Hansen is up for a culinary adventure. So when the theme was Peru for Columbus’ Big Read kickoff Saturday, she was ready with a recipe from a collection amassed during years of networking with international spouses at Columbus Air Force Base.
The recipe for the Causa Relleno de Guerra (cow-sah ray-yay-no day gher-rah) she made for the event originally came from Claudia Monica Oestreich, a former member of the International Spouses Group. Oestreich grew up in Peru. Hansen first became involved with international student pilots through volunteer work with the Military Affairs Committee of what is now the Columbus-Lowndes Chamber of Commerce. As she became acquainted with more and more families from other countries at the air base, Hansen, along with Patricia Wilson and L.L. Gates, fostered a support organization to reduce the isolation some spouses experience, especially when English is not their first language.
“It’s all about community support,” Hansen said.
The connections she has made have expanded not only her circle of friendships, but her palate as well.
“Because I volunteer with the group, I have been richly rewarded with invitations to eat all kinds of foods from all over the world,” she smiled. “I will taste anything.”
Historic dish
A member of the Life Enrichment Program (LEP) Advisory Board at Mississippi University for Women, Hansen first met Oestreich when the latter taught Spanish for the LEP. Oestreich became a member of the spouses group and prepared the causa for a Taste of the World LEP class Hansen coordinated.
“Mostly it was girls from the international spouses at the air base who came together to bring samples of foods from their particular countries,” she explained. “It was an extremely popular class. Monica brought this recipe and I fell in love with it. It was absolutely delicious, and it’s not that hard to make.”
The dish is historic, she added. It was created by Peruvian Army officers’ wives during the War of the Pacific in the late 1800s, as Chile waged war on Bolivia and Peru. (Guerra means “war.”) Avocados were included only for officers, not regular troops.
While a lot of the international recipes Hansen has sampled are “extremely complicated” to make, the causa, as it’s commonly called, is less so.
Causa is anything layered with mashed potatoes. The versatile Peruvian dish makes a great light meal or a good addition to a buffet spread. In Peru, it is often filled with seafood, avocados, tomatoes, olives and sometimes eggs. Chicken and tuna are favorites, too. Traditional causa also has aji amarillo, Peru’s signature yellow pepper, according to veggiebelly.com.
Hansen made her dish with chicken, but offered suggestions for other fillings: avocado, mayonnaise, diced tomatoes and boiled diced eggs; avocado mayonnaise, beets and boiled eggs; shrimp, mayonnaise and ketchup, with drops of lime juice and ground yellow aji; or crabmeat and mayonnaise. Served cold, causa is often topped with extravagant garnishes and sauces for a colorful presentation.
Hansen recommends serving an avocado mayonnaise on the side. Recipes for the causa and the mayonnaise are included in today’s food section.
With her busy schedule of community volunteer work, and operating the Cartney-Hunt House Bed and Breakfast with her husband, Vagn, Hansen is frequently on the go. But she makes time for culinary diversion. Her final causa preparation Saturday, for instance, was sandwiched between a morning tamale-cooking class at the air base and an afternoon turn at making a skillet enchilada dish for a social gathering that night. (That recipe came from Anne Freeze’s One Pot Meals LEP class Hansen is taking at MUW.)
International cuisine will always be one way to explore the world around us.
CAUSA RELLANO DE GUERRA
4 chicken breasts
2 hard-boiled eggs
2 1/2 pounds potatoes, boiled (yellow, if available)
For potatoes:
White ground pepper
Juice of 2 key limes (or 1 lime)
1 tablespoon ground aji amarillo fresco (or 1 fresh yellow aji Peruvian chili, chopped)
1/4 cup olive oil
For chicken:
2 cups mayonnaise
4-5 stalks celery, diced
For garnish:
2 hard-boiled eggs
Red bell pepper, thinly sliced
8 or more Spanish olives, halved
Bunch of parsley, chopped
Avocados, sliced (with a few drops of lime juice to prevent discoloration)
(Source: Claudia Monica Oestreich, via Marleen Hansen)
MAYONESA DE PALTA
(Avocado mayonnaise)
1 avocado
1 lemon or lime juice
2 teaspoons ranch dressing
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon pesto
1/2 teaspoon garlic pesto ( or 1 1/2 teaspoons basil pesto)
2 teaspoons cottage cheese.
(Source: Marleen Hansen)
Jan Swoope is the Lifestyles Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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