Country: Peru

About: Inés Yábar is a sustainability activist. She is one of the founders of Ensemble pour TECHO, an organization seeking to eradicate poverty in South America and co-leads L.O.O.P., a peruvian social impact company conserving the marine ecosystem. She has also helped young innovators advance their projects with social and environmental impact through makesense. In 2019, she was part of the Peruvian delegation at COP25 following negotiations on deforestation. Inés combines her research, volunteering and job to continue learning, sharing and acting towards a more sustainable future. She is currently the Senior Global Campaigns Coordinator for Restless Development.

Recipe for Change: 

1. Research your facts: When you’re an activist it’s easy to get carried away in a sea of information, shouting and opinions. Fighting for what you believe is right should be accompanied by what you know is true. 

2. Find what you don’t love and make it what you love: People say find what you love, but sometimes it’s what you don’t love that makes your actions more powerful. Find what makes you want to change things, what motivates you to change the status quo and then make the actions to change that your hobby.

3. Make the most of where you are because only you can be there: Everyone you admire must have started somewhere so don’t think less of where you’ve started. Only you can start where you are, the point is to get started.

4. Bring other people with you: There is nothing more powerful than you and thousands of friends acting for a cause, making your voices heard. Activism is not about the fame it’s about the purpose, share that purpose with those around you.

5. Be in it for the long haul: It’s easy to get discouraged and want to stop, thinking that what you do is just a drop in the ocean. Look back and remember how far you’ve come and remember change does not come overnight but it does come and YOU can make it happen.

Recipe: Peruvian Causa

Peru has over 4,000 varieties of potatoes that are shared between rich and poor. The different sizes, colors, flavours and shapes of each one bring variety and joy. This recipe can be enjoyed with a variety of different potatoes you find at home but it’s best made with gold potatoes. What I love about this recipe is that it is versatile. You can choose to make it with chicken, tuna (if you’re pescatarian), egg if you’re vegetarian or even tofu if you’re vegan, always as delicious and enjoyable!

INGREDIENTS:

Potato Layer

• 2 lbs Yukon Gold Potatoes (I like them un-peeled but you can peel them too)
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1-2 tbsp aji amarillo paste (or hot sauce if you can’t find it)
• salt and pepper, to taste

Filling

• 280h Protein of your choice (tuna, chicken, egg, tofu…)
• 3 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 tsp lime juice
• 2 tbsp red onion, finely diced
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley, minced
• 1 ripe avocado, sliced

INSTRUCTIONS:

Potatoes

1. Boil the potatoes in salted water until fork tender.
2. Drain the potatoes. Cool the mashed potatoes to room temperature and mash them.
3. Once the potatoes are cooled, add the olive oil, lime juice and aji amarillo paste (made in a liquidizer). Stir to combine, then season the potato mixture with salt and pepper to taste.

Filling

4. Prepare the filling with your protein (cooked), mayo (or vegan mayo), lime juice, onion, and parsley in a bowl. Mix to combine and season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Assembly

5. Fill the dish 1/4 of the way up with the potato mixture.
6. Add a layer of sliced avocado
7. Add a layer of potato
8. Then a layer of the protein salad
9. Finally, top the casserole dish with another layer of potato.
10. Refrigerate

Serve the causa rellena with a sprig of parsley, or garnish with other traditional toppings, like sliced hardboiled eggs, black olives, or more avocado. Serve cold.