pepitas

Brown Goddess Dressing; Copycat Recipe?

/ Savor Blog Partners / Leave a comment

Brown Goddess Dressing!!!! A mole vinaigrette over a cucumber salad with mint and candied pepitas!!!!!


Long a fan of salad on the same plate next to a mole-sauced entree, the idea of a mole vinaigrette sounded familiar and spectacular. I came across a 2017 article mentioning this salad from a restaurant named Lalito, opened by chef Gerardo Gonzalez in New York. The restaurant is still there but Chef Gonzalez is not, and there’s no sign of any Brown Goddess Cucumber Salad, or anything else with the dressing on their current menu posted online. Not ever eating there myself, who knows.

With no further direction, I attempted Mole Dulce candied pepitas. I started with a cup of pumpkin seeds dry toasting in a pan on medium heat.

After they darkened and smelled toasty, I added a tablespoon Mano Y Metate Mole Dulce powder, a tablespoon sugar and a half teaspoon salt.

Stirring, I added a couple tablespoons of water and cooked until sticky and glossy. Then I transferred to a plate to cool.

For the Brown Goddess Mole Vinaigrette, I used the same skillet to cook a tablespoon Mole Dulce powder in a tablespoon of mild oil (grape seed) over medium heat.

When it was a fragrant paste, I added a tablespoon white wine vinegar and cooled completely.

I tossed two small sliced cucumbers into the room temperature pan, topped with tiny spearmint leaves and few candied pepitas.

After taking a photo and eating some, I sliced the third (slightly opaque from my too cold fridge) cucumber, and remixed all. Topped with the rest of the mint leaves and a handful of pepitas, it was a great little summer meal.

Sikil Pak – Yucatan Pumpkin Seed Dip

/ Savor Blog Partners / 3 Comments

Hello, Amy here eating something totally new to me that my sister Laura just made. Sikil Pak is a Yucatan condiment made with pumpkin seeds.

She recently had this dip at our uncle’s house and fell in love immediately with this bright and rich mixture. She didn’t have his recipe but took a guess at the general proportions and ingredients he used and came up with a close version. It’s a blend of cooked and raw elements plus lots of citrus. Make sure to cool before blending in the herbs at the end to keep it fresh.

1 medium sweet onion

2 tablespoons butter

1 habanero chile

12oz tomatoes, canned or fresh

2 cups toasted, unsalted pumpkin seeds. Or start with raw, then toast and cool

2 limes, juice and zest

1 bunch cilantro

salt and pepper

agave nectar

Sauté diced onion and habanero in butter until golden brown, let cool. Sauté tomato until liquid slightly reduces, let cool. Place onion, pumpkin seeds and tomato in food processor, add lime juice and zest, and pulse together.

Add coarse chopped cilantro into processor and pulse until the texture is like wet sand, do not over mix. Adjust seasonings; add agave drizzle to balance the acidity of the lime juice. Garnish with pumpkin seeds and chopped cilantro. Serve with corn chips. Maybe jicama would be good, too. Thanks, Laura!

Read more use of pumpkin seeds here.

amy mole

Amy Valdez Schwemm

Amy Valdés Schwemm

With her family’s love of cooking as her inspiration, Amy founded Mano Y Metate, offering freshly ground mole powders for people to make and serve mole at home. She inspires Tucsonans to become Desert Harvesters, to plant and harvest native foods in their yards. At Tucson Community Supported Agriculture, she advocates for underappreciated veggies and celebrates food’s seasons. She loves to hike the deserts and forests, make plant remedios, and feed people.

Pepitas, Squash Bees, and The Power of Small Things

/ Savor Blog Partners / 3 Comments

Linda here, writing to you this chilly, December morning.

Several people asked me about squash this week. What a surprise! –  as squash is  often a bit under-appreciated.

I adore squash. It is rare in that every part of the plant can be eaten – leaves, shoots, flowers (both the male and female flowers), and its seeds.

 

img_4768

Pumpkin Seeds (hulled) roasted with chiltepin

Let’s spend a moment with the Squash Bee. We think of squash as growing in the garden, that is, a domesticated plant. And it is. But Sophie D. Coe, in America’s First Cuisines reminds us that they were (as were so many of our not domesticated foods) WILD. She writes: “Their original distribution in the wild can be traced by the ranges of various species of bees of the genus Peponapis, whose sole source of nectar and pollen are the squashes, and specific species of squashes for specific species of bees at that.”

img_4747

Squash Bees – from a poster at a squash stand.

There have often been times in our shared human history (and present!) where food is scarce. People planned ahead for times of hunger. In terms of squash, it was prepared by cutting in into strips and dried for use later.

img_4778

This print was made by Jean Bales (1946-2004) and it titled Cushaw Melons: Pumpkin Harvest and Drying the Pumpkin (1980).

Most of you have favorite squash recipes that you turn to for you Holiday Tables. I want to remind you to not throw away the seeds when you are preparing your squash.

img_7558

A squash growing through the fence.

Before we get into the recipe maybe we better spend a moment on How to “get into” the squash. Think squash like the one growing on the fence can be tricky to cut open with a knife. A friend from Mexico showed me a simple trick that has changed my squash-culinary-life.

It is this: Use gravity.

Meaning: Drop the darned thing on the ground until it cracks open, then scoop out the seeds and save for the garden and for the recipe below. Then you can get your knif into the rind and cut for roasting or steaming of what have you.

Today’s recipe: Roasted Pumpkin Seeds (Pepitas) with chiltepin. 

img_4765

The key to this VERY tasty treat, is to roast on VERY low heat. I use heat around 175 (under 200 degrees for sure).

I put a handful of pumpkin seeds (hulled or not) on a baking sheet in a preheated oven.

Add a tablespoon of Braggs Liquid Aminos and make sure that the seeds are coated with and spread them out evenly on the sheet.

I sprinkle half of the pan with dried chiltepin – and the other half leave for those who may not like such heat.

Every oven is different, but mine take about 15 minutes to roast. While they are in the oven, check them once or twice moving them around with a utensil to keep them from sticking.

When they are dry (and not sticky) take them out and let them cool.

————————————————————————–

Here are a few other squash adventures that I have had. Please let me know what you make with your squash!

img_2731

Scramble squash blossoms into your eggs …. they are delicious!!!

img_2738

 

img_1487

Empanadas baking …

Make empanadas with squash filling sometime – they can be sweet or savory! The rustic oven you see above lends a nice smoky flavor to the empanadas – but they are fabulous in any kind of oven. img_1486

img_7213

An embroidery project I made as an Ode to this generous plant