Most people think that the national dish of Peru is ceviche. That is all well and good, but every single Peruvian person I have ever met sings the praises of the potato dish, Causa. That might make sense, as Peru is home to over 3,000 varieties of potatoes! This food is a layered yellow potato dish typically involving lots of meat (chicken, canned tuna, shellfish) and mayo, and eggs and citrus.
The historical beauty of this food almost outshines its delicious composition. Causa dates back to The Pacific War (1879 - 1884), which involved Peru, Bolivia, and Chile. The war-stricken country suffered a hunger crisis, and the women devised a dish that would help combat the hunger of the nation. They used lemons or limes, chiles, salt, and oil to season mashed potatoes, and then they offered them up "for the cause," hence the Spanish name, "Causa."
In my pre-vegan days, I first became introduced to Causa by a woman in my Department of Children and Families MAPP (foster care) class in Florida. She was from Peru, and used smashed golden potatoes, mayonnaise, canned tuna, and hard-boiled eggs for the dish. It sounded pretty repugnant to me, but I did try it. It was fabulous.
I hadn't had this dish in a very long, long time, considering it's basically death on a plate. My mission... veganize Causa, while retaining its traditional ingredients, texture, and flavor. If you should like to compare my version with more traditional causa, feel free to do so here.
So here is the recipe, with photo illustrations. I hope you enjoy it!
Causa
Serves 4 dinner-sized portions, or 6 to 8 appetizer or lunch portions
Ingredients (in sections)
Potato Layers
5 or 6 fist-sized Yukon Gold Potatoes
Juice of 1 large lime
3 TB Canola Oil
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tsp tumeric
Tempeh Layers
8 oz package soy tempeh, cubed
½ to 1 tsp kelp granules
2 TB tamari
1 ½ C water
¼ C vegan mayo (Vegannaise!)
Juice of 1 small lime
1 small sweet or yellow onion, sliced paper thin
For Assembly
2 TB vegan mayo (optional, but recommended)
2 TB finely chopped Italian Parsley
Spanish Olives for garnish
Avocado for garnish (optional)
Directions
Wash and pierce potatoes with a fork. Bake potatoes in microwave (recommended since it is it is faster!) or oven until soft.
While potatoes are baking, put juice of one large lime, 3 TB of canola oil, salt, pepper, and tumeric in a medium glass mixing bowl. Mix well with a fork to distribute tumeric evenly.
Also while potatoes are baking, place tempeh into a small saucepan or frying pan on the stove with the kelp, water, and tamari. Steam over medium/high heat for about 10 to 15 minutes. If it starts to dry out, add more water.
While the tempeh steams, take your onions (they NEED to be as paper thin as possible!) and place in a bowl well-covered with ice water. Soak for about 15 minutes. This gets all of the “raw” onion flavor out that people hate so much and leaves you with tasty onions that don’t bite back! Drain them well, and pat dry with paper towels.
When potatoes are done, cut in half, and hold with a dish towel so you don’t burn your hands. Scoop out all flesh with a spoon into a bowl.. Lightly mash potatoes with a fork. You don’t want to make them pasty. Just crumbly. Measure 3 cups packed of potato flesh. ( If there isn’t enough, zap another potato in the microwave.)
Put potato into the lime mixture. Mix well with a fork until all of the potatoes are a golden yellow color, and well mashed, but some lumps should remain.
Place half potato mixture into a small glass pie pan that has been coated with cooking spray, or lightly greased with oil. Spread evenly around pie plate.
Your tempeh should now be done. Drain any unabsorbed liquid, and place into a small bowl. Mash well. Add the ¼ C of vegan mayo, the onions, and the juice of one small lime. Mix well. Spread this entire mixture on top of the potatoes in the pie plate. 
Carefully spread the rest of the potato mixture on top of the tempeh mixture.
You can spread 2 TB more of vegan mayo on top of the potatoes with a spatula. This will help the garnish stick, and it’s how they do it in Peru! Garnish with parsley, sliced Spanish olives, and avocado if desired.
Slice into pie pieces, and serve at room temperature.
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