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Pipián verde
Green pumpkin seed sauce
Pipián verde: Puebla's pumpkin-seed and tomatillo sauce with chayote and green beans
Pipián verde is one of the oldest sauces in central Mexico, thickened with ground pumpkin seeds long before chocolate moles appeared, and in Puebla it is often served during Lent with vegetables. Toasted seeds are blended with tomatillo, green chiles, herbs and lettuce leaves into a pale jade sauce that tastes nutty and gently tangy. Here it coats tender chayote and green beans; the same sauce is also made with poached chicken. Serve with rice and warm tortillas. Chef's tip: once the seed paste is in the pan, keep it at a lazy simmer, because boiling makes the sauce grainy and split.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the sauce
- 10 ½ oz tomatilloshusked and rinsed
- ½ white onionchopped
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3 ¼ cups vegetable stock
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp salt
For the vegetables
- 2 chayotespeeled, cored and cut in 2 cm chunks
- 7 oz green beanstrimmed and halved
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Method
0/7 doneStep 1: Toast the 5 ½ oz hulled raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas) in a dry frying pan over a medium-low heat, stirring constantly, for 4–5 minutes until they puff and start to pop but stay mostly green. Letting them brown is the classic mistake: the sauce turns khaki and bitter.
5 minStep 2: Simmer the 10 ½ oz tomatillos and 2 serrano chiles in a little water for 8 minutes until olive green and soft; drain.
8 minStep 3: Blend the seeds with the tomatillos, chiles, ½ white onion, 2 cloves garlic, ⅔ oz fresh cilantro (coriander), 2 romaine lettuce leaves, 2 allspice berries and half the 1 ½ cups vegetable stock for 2 minutes until very smooth.
3 minStep 4: Heat the 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a wide pan over a medium heat. Pour in the sauce (it will spit) and stir for 5 minutes as it thickens and darkens slightly.
5 minStep 5: Stir in the rest of the 1 ½ cups vegetable stock and the 1 tsp salt, lower the heat and simmer very gently, uncovered, for 10 minutes, stirring often, until it coats the back of a spoon.
10 minStep 6: Meanwhile, boil the 2 chayotes for 6 minutes and the 7 oz green beans for 4 minutes in salted water until just tender to the point of a knife; drain.
8 minStep 7: Fold the vegetables into the sauce and warm through for 3 minutes without boiling. Taste for salt and serve with rice and tortillas.
3 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 320 kcal
- Protein
- 13 g
- Carbs
- 14 g
- Fat
- 25 g
- Fibre
- 5 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does pipián verde take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 40 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegan?
- Yes. It has no meat, fish, dairy or eggs.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of white onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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