Pepián de Pollo

Name: Pepián de Pollo
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 95 min
Total time: 125 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Guatemalan
Ingredients: 1.5 kg chicken pieces, bone in (thighs, drumsticks and breast, skin removed if you like); 2 l water; 1 whole white onion (half for the broth, half for the recado); 6 cloves garlic (2 for the broth, 4 for the recado, unpeeled); 500 g ripe plum tomatoes; 250 g miltomates (husks removed and rinsed); 2 pcs chile guaque (stemmed and seeded); 2 pcs chile pasa (stemmed and seeded); 60 g pepitoria (hulled squash seeds); 40 g sesame seeds; 1 stick cinnamon (about 5 cm, Ceylon type); 1 pc corn tortilla (a day-old one is best); 400 g potatoes (peeled and cut in large chunks); 2 whole güisquil (peeled and cut in wedges); 200 g ejotes (trimmed and halved); 2 whole carrots (peeled and cut in thick sticks); 1 bunch cilantro (stems for the recado, leaves to finish); salt (to taste)

Serves 6 · 125 min · Guatemalan

Ingredients

1.5 kg chicken pieces, bone in
2 L water
1 white onion
6 cloves garlic
500 g ripe plum tomatoes
250 g miltomates
2 chile guaque
2 chile pasa
60 g pepitoria
40 g sesame seeds
1 stick cinnamon
1 corn tortilla
400 g potatoes
2 güisquil
200 g ejotes
2 carrots
1 bunch cilantro
to taste salt

Method

01
Poach the chicken Put the chicken in a large pot with the water, half the onion, two cloves of garlic and two teaspoons of salt, bring it to a boil, skim off the foam, then simmer gently with the lid partly on until the chicken is just cooked.
02
Toast the seeds Heat a dry comal or heavy frying pan over medium-low heat and toast the pepitoria and sesame seeds together, stirring all the time, until golden and fragrant, then tip them onto a plate.
03
Toast cinnamon and tortilla On the same comal, toast the cinnamon stick and the tortilla until the tortilla is crisp and spotted brown on both sides.
04
Toast the chiles Lay the chile guaque and chile pasa on the comal and press them flat with a spatula for a few seconds on each side, just until they smell toasty and turn slightly darker.
05
Soak the chiles Put the toasted chiles in a bowl and cover them with about one cup of hot broth from the chicken pot to soften.
06
Char the tomatoes Place the tomatoes, miltomates, the remaining half onion and four unpeeled garlic cloves on the comal over medium-high heat and turn them now and then until blackened in spots and soft.
07
Remove the chicken Lift the chicken pieces out of the pot onto a plate and keep the broth hot.
08
Blend the recado Put the charred vegetables, toasted seeds, cinnamon, torn tortilla, cilantro stems, the soaked chiles with their liquid and two more cups of broth into a blender, and blend until completely smooth.
09
Simmer the sauce Pour the recado into the pot with the remaining broth, stir well and simmer uncovered over medium-low heat, stirring often, until it thickens and darkens.
10
Cook the vegetables Add the potatoes, carrots and güisquil to the sauce and simmer until they are almost tender.
11
Add beans and chicken Add the green beans and the chicken pieces, season with salt, and simmer until the beans are tender and the chicken is heated through.
12
Rest and serve Turn off the heat, let the pepián rest for a few minutes, then serve it scattered with chopped cilantro leaves, with white rice and warm corn tortillas.

Method

Poach the chicken

Put the chicken in a large pot with the water, half the onion, two cloves of garlic and two teaspoons of salt, bring it to a boil, skim off the foam, then simmer gently with the lid partly on until the chicken is just cooked.

Keep it at a gentle simmer, not a rolling boil, so the meat stays tender and the broth stays clear.

Poach the chicken · 35 min

Toast the seeds

Heat a dry comal or heavy frying pan over medium-low heat and toast the pepitoria and sesame seeds together, stirring all the time, until golden and fragrant, then tip them onto a plate.

Sesame burns fast. Once the first seeds pop and turn light brown, take the pan off the heat; burnt seeds make the whole sauce bitter.

Toast the seeds · 4 min

Toast cinnamon and tortilla

On the same comal, toast the cinnamon stick and the tortilla until the tortilla is crisp and spotted brown on both sides.

If you have no tortilla, a slice of stale French bread soaked in broth is the other traditional thickener, but it adds gluten.

Toast cinnamon and tortilla · 3 min

Toast the chiles

Lay the chile guaque and chile pasa on the comal and press them flat with a spatula for a few seconds on each side, just until they smell toasty and turn slightly darker.

Outside Guatemala, use dried guajillo for guaque and dried pasilla or ancho for pasa.

Toast the chiles · 00:40

Soak the chiles

Put the toasted chiles in a bowl and cover them with about one cup of hot broth from the chicken pot to soften.

Soak the chiles · 10 min

Char the tomatoes

Place the tomatoes, miltomates, the remaining half onion and four unpeeled garlic cloves on the comal over medium-high heat and turn them now and then until blackened in spots and soft.

Proper blistering gives pepián its smoky flavour, so let them char well. Peel the garlic once it cools.

Char the tomatoes · 12 min

Remove the chicken

Lift the chicken pieces out of the pot onto a plate and keep the broth hot.

Blend the recado

Put the charred vegetables, toasted seeds, cinnamon, torn tortilla, cilantro stems, the soaked chiles with their liquid and two more cups of broth into a blender, and blend until completely smooth.

Blend in two batches if your blender is small. Strain it through a sieve if you want a silkier sauce.

Simmer the sauce

Pour the recado into the pot with the remaining broth, stir well and simmer uncovered over medium-low heat, stirring often, until it thickens and darkens.

Scrape the bottom as you stir, because the seed sauce catches easily.

Simmer the sauce · 15 min

Cook the vegetables

Add the potatoes, carrots and güisquil to the sauce and simmer until they are almost tender.

Cook the vegetables · 12 min

Add beans and chicken

Add the green beans and the chicken pieces, season with salt, and simmer until the beans are tender and the chicken is heated through.

The sauce should coat the back of a spoon. If it gets too thick, loosen it with a splash of hot water.

Add beans and chicken · 10 min

Rest and serve

Turn off the heat, let the pepián rest for a few minutes, then serve it scattered with chopped cilantro leaves, with white rice and warm corn tortillas.

Rest and serve · 5 min

Pepián de Pollo

Ingredients

Method

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