Authentic Pipian Mexican Recipes

PIPIáN ROJO RECIPE

Steps:

• Season the meat with salt and pepper. Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a large saucepan. Once the oil is hot, add the meat, and sear both sides, turning once when the meat gets a light golden color. This step will take about 5 minutes total. Add one cup of water to the saucepan and cover to simmer and cook until the meat is almost fork-tender.
• While the meat is cooking, let's prepare the sauce. Prepare a medium-size saucepan
• with 2 cups of water where you are going to be placing all the toasted ingredients. Toast the peppers over medium-high heat for about 30 seconds per side. Place in the saucepan.
• Lightly toast the seeds in a skillet or frying pan. We'll start with the larger seeds: first the peanuts, then the pumpkin seeds and finally the sesame seeds. Toasting the peanuts will take about 1-1/2 minutes, afterward remove and place in a bowl. Toast the pumpkin seeds, being careful not to burn them. Once they start to get a golden color, they will begin to jump; use a wooden spatula to stir. This step is a very quick one, and the same process applies to the sesame seeds that will be roasted in a matter of seconds. Place roasted seeds in the bowl with the water.
• Now, slightly roast cinnamon, cumin seeds, cloves and allspice berries. Place them in the bowl with water once toasted.
• Finally, roast the tomatoes, onion, and garlic, turning occasionally to obtain an even roasting. Place in the bowl with the water.
• Place the bowl's contents in the saucepan over a medium-high heat and cook for about 8 minutes; set aside to let the ingredients soften.
• Check the meat for doneness, and add more water if needed.
• Place all the sauce's ingredients in your blender pitcher and process until you have a smooth and robust sauce. Do not process it for a long period of time, just enough to blend the ingredients.
• Pour the sauce into a large skillet and turn up the heat to medium-high and slowly cook the sauce. Add the pieces of meat and stir occasionally. Keep cooking for about 10 minutes. The fats will float over the surface by now. If the sauce seems too thick, add a little chicken broth or water. Season with salt and pepper.

PORK CHOPS IN PIPIAN

Steps:

• Make the sauce: Remove the stems from the chiles de árbol, and gently roll the chiles between your fingers to remove the seeds. Discard seeds. Set a bare skillet over high heat for 5 minutes, then add the chiles. Toast until they are darkened and fragrant, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Place them in a bowl, cover with 2 cups boiling or very hot water, and set aside to soak.
• Return the skillet to high heat. Add the tomatoes, onion and garlic, and cook, turning occasionally, until charred, approximately 10 minutes. Put the vegetables on a plate, and set aside to cool, then slip the skins off the cloves of garlic.
• Return the skillet to medium-low heat. Place the pumpkin seeds, peanuts and sesame seeds in the skillet, and cook, stirring and shaking the pan continuously, until they are toasted and fragrant, approximately 2 to 4 minutes. Put the seeds and nuts in a bowl, and stir in the cinnamon, cloves and allspice.
• Put the chiles and soaking liquid in a blender with the tomatoes, onion, garlic, the nut-seed mixture and the chipotle. Purée until smooth.
• Add the oil, lard or chicken fat to a large, heavy-bottomed pot, and heat over medium heat until it is nearly smoking. Add the purée. It will sputter a lot. Lower the heat, and stir, cooking the mixture down to a thick paste. It will continue to sputter and pop. Add the broth to the paste, and stir, then season with the salt, sugar and vinegar, and cook for another 15 minutes or so, until it resembles a thick, creamy soup. Lower heat to a bare simmer.
• Make the pork chops: Season the pork chops aggressively with salt and pepper, and dust them with the flour. Add the oil to the skillet, and heat over medium-high heat until nearly smoking. Add the chops, and let them cook undisturbed, in batches if necessary, until crisp and well browned, about 5 minutes per side. Set them aside to rest for 5 minutes or so. Serve a chop per person on a generous amount of sauce, with tortillas to mop it up. Extra sauce can be used to braise chicken, lamb or more pork, or as a topping for enchiladas.

GREEN PIPIAN

Steps:

• 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.
• Place the cooled pumpkin seeds in a blender and add the tomatillos, chiles, lettuce, onion, garlic, cilantro, and 1/2 cup of the chicken stock. Cover the blender and blend the mixture until smooth, stopping the blender to stir if necessary.
• 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.

PIPIáN

Steps:

• If the pumpkin seeds you have are already toasted, proceed to step 2. Otherwise, heat 3 tablespoons of the lard in a heavy skillet over medium-high heat. A minute later, add the pumpkin seeds and cook, shaking and stirring the pan constantly for a minute or two, until the seeds start to puff. (Take care not to overcook the seeds, which will make the sauce bitter; and be prepared for flying seeds popping out of the pan.) Remove the toasted seeds with a slotted spoon and cool. (Discard any blackened seeds.) Meanwhile, warm the stock and soak the chiles in it. When they have softened, after 10 to 15 minutes, remove their stems and seeds; reserve the soaking liquid.
• Put the seeds in a food processor and process until pasty, stopping the machine and scraping down the sides if necessary. Add the garlic, chiles, and as much of the soaking liquid as you need to process until quite smooth.
• Turn the heat under the pan back to medium and add the remaining lard or oil. Reheat the sauce with enough liquid to thin to a pleasing consistency, stirring occasionally, until it just boils and thickens slightly. Remove from the heat. Taste and add salt and pepper as needed, then stir in the lime juice; serve hot or at room temperature. (This keeps well, covered and refrigerated, for up to 3 days; bring back to room temperature or reheat before serving and always add the lime juice at the last minute.)
• In step 2, add 2 tomatoes (preferably peeled and seeded) and 2 to 4 garlic cloves, peeled, to the mix; you will need less of the reserved liquid.
• Omit the lard and toast the pumpkin seeds as you would sesame seeds (page 596). Omit the ancho chiles and puree the toasted seeds with chile powder to taste (about 1 tablespoon), at least 1/4 cup chicken stock, preferably homemade (page 160), or water, and salt and pepper to taste. Reheat and add the lime juice.

CHICKEN IN PIPIAN SAUCE (A TRADITIONAL MEXICAN RECIPE)

Steps:

• Cook the chicken with the water, vegetables and seasonings in a large saucepan until tender.
• Strain, reserving the broth.
• Skin and bone the chicken, and set aside.
• To make the sauce, toast the sesame seeds lightly in a skillet, stirring constantly, until they are fragrant.
• Puree the sesame seeds with the almonds and 2 cups of the chicken broth.
• Heat oil or lard in a skillet, add the blended sesame-seed-almond mixture, and cook for 5 to 8 min., until thickened.
• Add 2 to 3 more cups of the broth and chicken bouillon and simmer for 5 more minutes.
• Add the chiles, olives, capers and chicken.
• Simmer for 10 minutes, and serve hot.

MEXICAN POLLO EN PIPIAN

Steps:

• Remove stems and seeds from chiles.
• Chop chiles, and combine with 1/2 cup hot water in a small bowl; cover and set aside 1 hour.
• Drain.
• Combine chicken and next 6 ingredients in a large Dutch oven; bring to a boil.
• Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour.
• Remove chicken and vegetables from broth; set aside. Strain broth; reserve 1 cup and return 2 cups to Dutch oven.
• Bone and chop chicken; return chicken and vegetables to Dutch oven.
• Combine chiles and reserved 1 cup of broth in container of an electric blender; process under smooth.
• Add peanut butter; process until smooth.
• Add to chicken mixture; stir well.
• Add salt, cinnamon, thyme, and cloves; stir well.
• Cover and simmer 30 minutes.
• Serve with rice and tortillas.