Name: Causa de mariscos
Prep time: 38 min
Cook time: 31 min
Total time: 129 min
Cuisine: Peruvian cuisine
Ingredients: 900 g yellow potatoes, raw, scrubbed, skin on. Weighed before peeling; about 750 g peeled cooked potato; 1500 ml water, measured. For simmering potatoes, then discarded; 45 g ají amarillo paste, strained, deseeded chilli paste. For potato seasoning; 45 ml fresh lime juice, strained. 35 ml in potato, 10 ml on avocado; 30 ml vegetable oil, measured. Into potato; 4 g fine salt, measured. 2 g potato, 2 g seafood cooking water; 260 g raw peeled shrimp, deveined. Raw net weight, to cook fully; 240 g cleaned squid, cut in rings. Raw net weight, to cook fully; 80 g pasteurised commercial mayonnaise, chilled. Mix with cooled seafood; 140 g ripe avocado flesh, thinly sliced. Fresh, 10 ml lime juice on slices; 30 g spring onion greens, finely chopped. Fold into filling

Causa de mariscos — Peruvian home recipe

Yield 4 portions

Prep time 38 minutes

Cook time 31 minutes

Passive time 60 minutes

Total time 129 minutes

Ingredients ↓

Overview

Causa de mariscos — Peruvian home recipe

Causa is not a raw-seafood marinade. The potato layer is a cooked, pressed yellow-potato mixture seasoned with ají amarillo, lime juice, salt and oil. Lima’s causa has several well-established filling families, including seafood; the marine version below sets cooked shrimp and squid between two stable potato layers.

Choose floury Peruvian papa amarilla if available, or an explicitly stated culinary substitute only when its texture is suitable. Press the potato while warm, but do not add the acidic dressing until the purée is no longer steaming vigorously. This reduces the risk of a gummy mash and helps the potato set without adding a binder that would alter its character.

The shrimp and squid are fully cooked before they meet mayonnaise and avocado. The mixed filling is refrigerated promptly, and the assembled causa is held cold rather than left on a dining table. Lime provides brightness; it does not make raw seafood safe and is not used as a substitute for the cooking step.

Ingredients

Yellow-potato layers

900 g yellow potatoes, raw, scrubbed, skin on. Weighed before peeling; about 750 g peeled cooked potato
1500 ml water, measured. For simmering potatoes, then discarded
45 g ají amarillo paste, strained, deseeded chilli paste. For potato seasoning
45 ml fresh lime juice, strained. 35 ml in potato, 10 ml on avocado
30 ml vegetable oil, measured. Into potato
4 g fine salt, measured. 2 g potato, 2 g seafood cooking water

Cooked seafood filling

260 g raw peeled shrimp, deveined. Raw net weight, to cook fully
240 g cleaned squid, cut in rings. Raw net weight, to cook fully
80 g pasteurised commercial mayonnaise, chilled. Mix with cooled seafood
140 g ripe avocado flesh, thinly sliced. Fresh, 10 ml lime juice on slices
30 g spring onion greens, finely chopped. Fold into filling

Method

Simmer the potatoes.Cover the 900 g scrubbed yellow potatoes with the listed 1500 ml cold water in a saucepan; bring to a gentle boil and simmer for 25 minutes, or until a thin knife passes to the centre. Every potato is yielding throughout, without disintegrating into the water.
Press and season the potato.Drain and peel the potatoes carefully while warm, then pass through a ricer. Let excess steam escape and fold in 45 g ají amarillo paste, 35 ml lime juice, 30 ml oil and 2 g salt. The mixture is even and mouldable rather than wet, stretchy or gluey.
Cook both seafood components.Bring clean water and 2 g salt to a boil in a small saucepan. Cook the peeled shrimp and the squid in separate small additions, testing the thickest piece of each with a food thermometer before removal. The shrimp are opaque and firm, and the squid rings are evenly opaque but still tender. Each batch of shrimp and squid must reach 63 °C.
Chill the seafood quickly.Transfer the cooked seafood to a clean shallow dish and refrigerate it promptly for 25 minutes, until cold enough to combine with mayonnaise safely. The seafood is uniformly chilled without standing at room temperature.
Mix the chilled filling.In a clean bowl fold the cold shrimp, squid, 80 g commercial mayonnaise and 30 g spring onion greens together. Toss the 140 g avocado with the remaining 10 ml lime juice just before layering. The seafood is lightly coated, with the pieces still identifiable and the avocado intact.
Build two potato layers.Line a small rectangular tin with removable lining. Press in half the seasoned potato, spread the seafood filling evenly, distribute the avocado slices and finish with the remaining potato. Smooth without compacting too hard. Two clearly separate potato layers enclose a continuous seafood-and-avocado middle.
Refrigerate the assembled causa.Cover and refrigerate the prepared tin at 4 °C or colder for 35 minutes; unmould with clean utensils and divide into four portions just before serving. The layers cut neatly and the seafood filling remains cold.

Practical

Success points

Cook shrimp and squid before cooling and mixing with mayonnaise. Avoid overworking the potato after adding its seasonings.

Practical guidance

Keep the finished causa at 4 °C or colder until serving, particularly at a buffet. If time is limited, prepare the potatoes and cook the seafood first, cool the latter in a shallow container, and assemble once everything is cold. Prepared mayonnaise is preferable to raw homemade egg mayonnaise here. Refrigerate leftovers promptly and use refrigerated assembled portions within 24 hours for best handling and texture; do not freeze the assembled avocado-and-mayonnaise filling. A paler floury potato changes the appearance and may need gentler mixing but should not be described as Peruvian yellow potato.

Control points

The potato layer spreads and slumpsToo much water was carried into the mash. Drain the potatoes thoroughly and allow steam to escape before seasoning.
The seafood filling releases liquidThe seafood was mixed while warm. Cool it in a shallow dish before adding mayonnaise and building the layers.

Nutrition per serving (estimated)

Serving size1 of 4 equal plated portions
Calories533 kcal
Carbohydrate40 g
Protein28 g
Fat29 g
Fibre7 g
Sodium670 mg

Allergens and food safety

Crustacean (shrimp), mollusc (squid) and egg (mayonnaise); check mustard and other mayonnaise-label allergens. Maintain separation between raw meat or fish, clean equipment and ready-to-eat ingredients; wash hands and tools after contact with raw animal food. Chill perishable food promptly in shallow covered containers at 4 °C or below and within 2 hours; avoid prolonged room-temperature standing. Cooked leftovers, when permitted by the recipe-specific guidance, must be reheated to 74 °C. Each batch of shrimp and squid must reach 63 °C. Cook fish and raw shellfish to at least 63 °C in the thickest part; citrus and vinegar do not substitute for heat. Follow FDA seafood buying and refrigeration guidance.

Closing

Result: Layers of seasoned yellow potato enclose cooked shrimp and squid in a light mayonnaise filling with avocado; a cold rest helps clean portions hold their shape.
Decisive control: Cook shrimp and squid before cooling and mixing with mayonnaise.