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Ingredients
½ cup hulled untoasted pumpkin seeds
½ pound tomatillos, husked, rinsed, and coarsely chopped, or 2 13-ounce cans, drained
1 serrano chile or ½ jalapeño (more to taste), stemmed and roughly chopped
3 romaine lettuce leaves, torn into pieces
¼ small white onion, coarsely chopped, soaked for 5 minutes in cold water, drained and rinsed
2 garlic cloves, halved, green shoots removed
¼ cup loosely packed chopped cilantro
1 ½ cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon canola or extra virgin olive oil
Salt, preferably kosher salt, to taste
Nutritional analysis per serving
9 grams carbs; 3 milligrams cholesterol; 176 calories; 6 grams monosaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 13 grams fat; 2 grams fiber; 416 milligrams sodium; 8 grams protein; 4 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Heat a heavy Dutch oven or saucepan over medium heat and add the pumpkin seeds. Wait until you hear one pop, then stir constantly until they have puffed and popped, and smell toasty. They should not get any darker than golden or they will taste bitter. Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool.
- Step 2
Place the cooled pumpkin seeds in a blender and add the tomatillos, chiles, lettuce, onion, garlic, cilantro, and ½ cup of the chicken stock. Cover the blender and blend the mixture until smooth, stopping the blender to stir if necessary.
- Step 3
Heat the oil in the Dutch oven or heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Drizzle in a bit of the pumpkin seed mixture and if it sizzles, add the rest. Cook, stirring, until the mixture darkens and thickens, 8 to 10 minutes. It will splutter, so be careful. Hold the lid of the pot above the pot to shield you and your stove from the splutters. Add the remaining chicken stock, bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered, stirring often, until the sauce is thick and creamy, 15 to 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt. For a silkier sauce, blend again in batches.
Advance preparation: The sauce can be made 5 days ahead and freezes well. Whisk or blend to restore its consistency after thawing. It’s easy to double this recipe and freeze a batch of it. For a beautiful main dish, double the recipe and place cooked chicken breasts or fish fillets in a large baking dish, cover with the sauce and heat through in a medium oven. Garnish with chopped cilantro and toasted pumpkin seeds.
Private Notes
Comments
Yes, that works great. Make a veg stock with mushrooms (as you suggest) + onion, carrot (not much) a potato, 1 tomato, celery (not much) and if you have it, some fresh fennel. Use more of the mushroom than anything else. I find vegetable stock easily gets too sweet. The potato, tomato and mushrooms keep it on the savory side - the fennel adds an interesting note. Add a handful parsley, cilantro or thyme too, if you have. Will be delish.
This is one of the better pipian recipes I have found, or better said a good use or tomatillos that I have in the garden. Cooked it using the recipe for chicken breasts gently bathed at 280degrees.
if i wanted to make this vegetarian, would i just replace the chicken stock with vegetable stock or perhaps mushroom stock? any recommendations?
Yes, that works great. Make a veg stock with mushrooms (as you suggest) + onion, carrot (not much) a potato, 1 tomato, celery (not much) and if you have it, some fresh fennel. Use more of the mushroom than anything else. I find vegetable stock easily gets too sweet. The potato, tomato and mushrooms keep it on the savory side - the fennel adds an interesting note. Add a handful parsley, cilantro or thyme too, if you have. Will be delish.