Pipián Verde with Roasted Squash

The timing of the harvests in our backyard garden tend to vary greatly from year to year. It is always an adventure to see what is ripe and ready to pick each morning. With this, we try to stay creative and flexible in planning our summer meals. While our red tomatoes are still a few weeks aways from being ripe, this week our tomatillo plants were bursting with bright green fruit peeking out of their husks. This got me searching the many different styles of Mexican salsas verdes, which led me to pipián verde. This beautiful, herbaceous sauce gets its unique flavor and texture from ground pumpkin seeds.

Ingredients:

3 to 5 fresh poblano chiles

1 white onion, peeled and quartered

10 tomatillos, husks removed and rinsed

3 whole garlic cloves, unpeeled

5 pounds acorn squash, (about 2 to 3 squash)

Avocado or canola oil

Salt and fresh ground black pepper

1 cup raw, hulled pumpkin seeds

2 cups vegetable or chicken stock

2 tablespoons masa harina

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 bunch cilantro

4 to 6 epazote sprigs (see notes)

½ bunch parsley

¼ teaspoon anise seeds

For garnish:

¼ cup raw, hulled pumpkin seeds

¼ cup fresh cilantro, leaves

Limes, quartered

Directions:

Heat a large cast-iron skillet or comal over medium-high heat. When the pan is very hot, add the whole poblano peppers, toasting until charred and blistered on all sides. Remove the chilies and place in a bowl, cover tightly and rest for at least 30 minutes. After resting, peel off the charred skins from the chilies, halve them, destem and remove the seeds. Set aside.

While the chilies are resting, place the onions, garlic cloves, and tomatillos in the hot pan. Use tongs to flip the vegetables as they begin to blister and toast until just starting to char. Remove from pan and set aside to cool slightly. Remove and discard the charred peels of the garlic cloves.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and prepare two baking sheets by lining with parchment paper. Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds. Slice into 1-inch half-moon wedges. Toss squash in a large mixing bowl with several tablespoons of oil. Season to taste with salt and black pepper then arrange in a single layer on the parchment lined baking sheets. Bake until squash is roasted tender and beginning to caramelize on the edges, about 30 minutes, flipping each piece after first 15 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.

While the squash is roasting, prepare the pipián verde sauce. In a dry, hot frying pan set over medium heat, toast the pumpkin seeds until they start puff and turn light brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. In a blender, pulse the pumpkin seeds with the stock for a minute. To the blender add the garlic cloves, poblano chilies, onions, tomatillos, masa harina, oregano, cilantro, epazote, parsley and anise. Puree until completely smooth. If sauce is too thick add a little more stock. Taste and adjust seasoning to taste. Pour the sauce into a large saucepan or Dutch-oven and simmer gently for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently.

Pour a generous portion of the sauce in the bottom of a large serving platter or shallow casserole dish. Arrange the squash over the top and garnish with the pumpkin seeds and cilantro leaves. Serve with lime wedges and a bowl of extra sauce on the table for passing.

Notes:

Epazote is a tender herb that is native to the Americas. It has a distinctly pungent flavor and can be found in groceries with large Latin sections. It is often sold as a fresh herb in little plastic containers in the produce section. It can also sometimes be found dried. It is an optional ingredient to this recipe, and if you can't find it you can substitute with a little mint, fresh fennel, or just add a little extra cilantro.

This unique and flavorful sauce that originates from central Mexico is traditionally served with grilled poultry or seafood, but is also lovely in vegetarian dishes like this. You can try this recipe with several different squashes such as kabocha, Hubbard, or delicata. It would also be a lovely sauce to serve over grilled summer squash.

You could assemble the dish up to the last step and then reheat it in a 350-degree oven until the sauce is bubbling. This past week, I served this dish with an assortment of colorful garnishes including sliced radishes, pickled red onion, crumbled cotija cheese, and sliced avocado. Some homemade tortillas and a pot of rice were perfect on the side.

Enjoy.