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October 19, 2002

Dippity Do

At the risk of turning this into an old lady haven, I’m posting a recipe that Sarah requested last night. It’s something we all ate on Jacob’s birthday and should come in handy since it’s so close to Halloween. It’s a very old Mayan recipe, still served in the Yucatan, and much healthier than your run-of-the-mill queso.

Sikil P’ak (Pumpkin Seed Dip)

1 cup unhulled raw pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup hulled raw pumpkin seeds
1 habanero chile or any fresh, hot, green chile, wiped clean
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
12 oz tomatoes, broiled (you don’t have to broil them, but I like to)
2/3 cup water (give or take)
2 heaped tablespoons roughly chopped cilantro
2 heaped tablespoons finely chopped chives

Heat a thick frying pan or comal and toast the unhulled seeds slowly, turning them constantly, until the hulls are well browned and crisp (some types of seeds will start to pop open). Add the hulled pumpkin seeds and toast for 1 minute more. Set them aside to cool. Meanwhile, toast the chile, turning it from time to time until it is blistered and black-brown in spots. Using an electric coffee/spice grinder, grind the toasted seeds, together with the salt, to a coarse powder. Transfer to a small serving bowl.

Blend the unskinned tomatoes briefly with 1/3 cup of the water. Stir into the ground pumpkin seeds together with the cilantro, chives, and whole chile, (If you prefer a more picante dish, blend a small piece of the chile with the tomatoes before mixing them with the seeds.) The mixture should have the consistency of mayonnaise. If it is too thick, you may have to add a little more water to dilute it.

Serve it at room temperature, as a dip.

Note: Sikil P’ak can be made ahead of time and will keep for a few days, although the fresh cilantro taste does suffer a little.

Mmm, mmm good. I promise, no more recipes for awhile.

Posted by pogo at October 19, 2002 2:19 PM