Servings: 4/6 / Prep time: 15 mins / Cook time: 1 hr 30 mins

 

Chicken Green Pipian2

Ingredients

For the chicken:

  • 1 whole chicken breast
  • 4 whole chicken legs
  • 1 head garlic, unpeeled
  • 1/2 large white onion
  • 6 long sprigs fresh cilantro
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 6 black peppercorns

For Green Pipian sauce:

  • 1 1/2 cups hulled green pumpkin seeds (about 7 ounces)
  • 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
  • 1 jar Mölli Mexico City cooking sauce
  • 1/2 cup packed coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/4 vegetable oil
  • 3 cups stock from cooking chicken
  • Garnish: chopped toasted hulled pumpkin seeds and chopped fresh cilantro
  • Accompaniment:Warm corn Tortillas

Directions

Make Chicken:

  1. Rinse chicken and cut garlic head in half crosswise. In a 6-quart kettle cover chicken, garlic halves, onion, cilantro, salt, and peppercorns with water and simmer, covered, 1 hour, or until chicken is tender. Transfer chicken to a bowl to cool and reserve stock.
  2. You can either serve whole pieces or shred chicken. If shredding, discard skin and bones. Pour reserved stock through a fine sieve into a bowl, pressing garlic pulp through sieve. Measure 3 cups stock for sauce and reserve remainder for another use (you can freeze it). Chicken and stock may be made 1 day ahead and cooled completely, uncovered, before being chilled separately, covered.

TIP: Substitute chicken with pan-fried Tofu or fish.

Make Green Pipian sauce:

  1. Heat a large heavy skillet over moderate heat until hot and toast pumpkin seeds, stirring constantly, until they have expanded and begin to pop, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer seeds to a plate to cool. In skillet heat sesame seeds, stirring, until lightly brown, about 1 minute, and transfer to plate.
  2. Transfer pumpkin and sesame seeds to a blender and purée with Mexico City sauce, 1/4 cup cilantro, and salt until completely smooth. If mixture is too thick, add the reserved chicken broth, as needed.
  3. In a 5-quart heavy kettle simmer Mexico City purée in oil, stirring frequently, 10 minutes. Add chicken stock and simmer sauce, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes, or until slightly thickened. Sauce may be prepared up to this point 1 day ahead and cooled completely, uncovered, before being chilled, covered.
  4. Garnish chicken in green pipian with toasted pumpkin seeds and cilantro, and serve with tortillas. Provecho!