Tag Archives: roasted pumpkin seeds

CHICKEN IN GREEN PIPIAN SAUCE, SOUS-VIDE STYLE

Posted in Poultry, Sous-Vide Cooking by

This classic Mexican recipe was featured in Marcela Valladolid‘s show on Food TV, Mexican Made Easy. It pairs a delicious sauce of cooked tomatillos and pumpkin seeds with boneless chicken breasts.  I decided to adapt her recipe for sous-vide cooking, and was very happy with the outcome.  The meat ended up perfectly cooked, not a hint of dryness.  The sauce is simply to die for, if you are a vegetarian, skip the bird, but make the sauce. Roasted cauliflower would be amazing paired with a little pipian…

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CHICKEN SOUS-VIDE WITH GREEN PIPIAN SAUCE
(adapted from Marcela’s Mexican Made Easy)

for the chicken:
4 boneless chicken breasts
4 little pats of butter (probably ok to skip it)
1 large lemon, sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

for the sauce:
1 + 1/4 cup green pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1 pound tomatillos, husked and rinsed
1 Serrano chile, stemmed
1/2 medium white onion, roughly chopped
1 + 1/2 cups chicken broth, warmed (I used a lot less)
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper, place them in sealable plastic bags, add a tiny pat of butter and a few slices of lemon over each breast. Seal the bags. Place in the water-bath set at 140 F for three hours.

While the chicken cooks, prepare the sauce (can be made a couple of days in advance). Preheat a large, heavy skillet over moderate heat until hot. Toast the pumpkin seeds, stirring constantly, until they have expanded and begin to pop, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer the seeds to a plate to cool. Reserve 2 tablespoons for garnish.

In a medium, heavy saucepan, simmer the tomatillos, Serrano and onions in salted water to cover until the tomatillos turn a dark green color, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the tomatillos, Serrano and onions to a blender and puree with the chicken broth, cilantro, sugar and toasted pumpkin seeds until smooth (the sauce will be a little coarse). Season with salt and pepper.

To serve, slice the chicken crosswise on the bias. Transfer to a serving plate. Spoon the green pipian sauce on top and garnish with the reserved toasted pumpkin seeds.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

 

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Comments: I am having a great time with my Anova sous-vide gadget. Most recipes I tried were big hits, a few disappointed me, but isn’t that true for any type of cooking?  You cannot win them all. For boneless chicken breasts, it is hard to come up with a better cooking method. I included butter in the bag, but it would probably be just as nice and tender without it. With sous-vide, you will never get the beauty of grill marks or that copper, enticing tone that roasting or broiling would offer.  But, in a recipe such as this one, in which the meat will be served under a sauce, the cosmetic aspect will be taken care of.  Imagine a very delicately poached chicken, boosted with the flavor of a spicy sauce with the crunchy pepitas on top: Mexican heaven, in sous-vide form! No sous-vide around?  Check Marcela’s original recipe using a regular oven.  I am sure it will be amazing too…

ONE YEAR AGO: Classic Shrimp Gobernador Tacos (another Marcela Valladolid’s recipe!)

TWO YEARS AGO: A Walk Towards the Sunset

THREE YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen

FOUR YEARS AGO:  Heavenly Home-made Fromage Blanc

FIVE YEARS AGO:  A Perfect Sunday Dinner

BRINED-ROASTED PUMPKIN SEEDS, AND A BLOG AWARD!

Posted in Appetizers by

As I mentioned on my last post, we love to make our own pumpkin puree.  The pulp stores well in the freezer and we can use it for pies, soups, sauces or anything else that calls for the canned product.  Once that pumpkin is cut open, don’t even consider discarding the seeds.  Roasted pumpkin seeds, home-made, are a special delicacy.  Until now, we’ve followed traditional recipes that simply lay the seeds on a baking sheet, lightly coated with oil and a little seasoning.  This time, I took a slightly different route: I brined the seeds before roasting, and what a difference that made!  All credit goes to Sawsan, the wonderful blogger and ultra-talented photographer from Jordan.  Check her post about it here.

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GINGER-PAPRIKA TOASTED PUMPKIN SEEDS
(from Chef in Disguise)

1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
2 cups water
1 tablespoon salt
about 1 tablespoon olive oil
powdered ginger to taste
paprika to taste
     

Scoop out the insides of your pumpkin. Separate the seeds from the stringy core and then rinse them.

In a small saucepan, add the water, seeds and 1 tablespoon of salt
Bring to a boil. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and drain.
Spread your seeds on a baking sheet and allow to dry completely.

Drizzle the seeds once they get dry with olive oil, sprinkle with the powdered ginger and paprika, or any seasonings you like, and mix to coat them as evenly as possible.  Spread the seeds out over the roasting pan, all in one layer.

Bake in a preheated oven at 390-400 F (200 Celsius) until they become golden brown or are roasted the way you like (10-20 minutes).  Allow to cool, and….

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

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Comments:  Three great advantages in this brining approach: first, the salt gets into the seed instead of outside only, so you won’t get excess salt in one bite and not enough in another, which is quite common in the “old” method.  Second, the roasting time is reduced quite a bit, as the seeds will have a chance to start mellowing down in the brining step.  Third, a more pleasant texture in the final roasted seeds.  Try it with different seasonings, Southwest spices, chili, I bet even a little curry could be pretty interesting.

Sawsan, thanks for teaching me about brining seeds, loved it!

And now, time to show off the blog award I received…

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I was nominated by Alison, from Happy Domesticity, and of course, it made my day when I got her note about it!  The winner of such an award must answer 10 questions. Alison added one more. I don’t mind at all, as 11 is a prime number, therefore a lot cooler than 10.  Let’s get down to business:

  1. What is your favorite color? Maybe yellow, but I do love all colors.
  2. Your favorite animal? I am a dog person as far as pets go, but my favorite animal is the elephant.
  3. Your favorite non-alcoholic drinks? Home-made carbonated water (Penguin). Twist of lemon is optional.
  4. Facebook or Twitter? I use Facebook because my blog posts are publicized there and I get messages from readers.  I don’t like Twitter, and that is a good thing because I wouldn’t have time for it anyway.
  5. Your favourite pattern? I love horizontal stripes, just the other day I noticed that a lot of my clothes have stripes.
  6. Do you prefer getting or giving presents? Giving.
  7. Your favourite number?  4
  8. Your favorite day of the week? Friday.
  9. Your favorite flower? Christmas-cactus in full bloom.
  10. What is your passion? My work. But fitness comes a close second. Cookbooks get the bronze medal.
  11. Why did you start to write your blog? I love to write and I love to cook. Blogging seems like a good way to join both… 😉 

Alison, thank you once again for the award!
Makes blogging even more fun!

ONE YEAR AGO: A Sourdough Experiment

TWO YEARS AGO: Shrimp and Fennel Casserole

THREE YEARS AGO: Tuscan Bread