Causa

Cold mashed yellow potato bound with lime juice, ají amarillo paste, and oil, pressed into layered terrines or moulds with fillings between the potato layers, typically tuna mayonnaise, prawn-and-avocado, or shredded chicken, and topped with sliced hard-boiled egg, olive, and a sliver of avocado. Served chilled as an elegant starter or light meal. The signature is the cool, faintly spicy potato wrapped in lime acid and ají amarillo's fruity-warm character, set against a cold protein-and-mayonnaise filling that adds savoury richness and a textural contrast to the smooth potato. A more refined Peruvian dish than anticuchos or lomo saltado: gentle, lime-driven, cold, with the potato as the textural unifier. Assuming tuna or prawn causa, the most common preparations.