Mexican · dinner
90m
Total time
6
Servings
—
kcal
medium
Difficulty
tap to check off
FAQ · Things people ask
Raw, hulled pepitas (the dark-green ones without the white shell). Pre-roasted and salted pepitas are too salty and already toasted — they give you less control over the toasting level and season the sauce unpredictably.
The pumpkin seeds were toasted too dark. They go from golden to bitter very quickly — pull them from the heat as soon as they start popping and become fragrant. A few dark ones are fine; majority-dark seeds will ruin the sauce.
Yes. Use vegetable broth and substitute the pork or chicken with roasted chayote, potatoes, or courgette. The sauce itself is plant-based. Add the vegetables in the last 15 minutes of simmering.
Related · You might also cook
Carnitas is pork shoulder cooked low and slow in its own fat, then crisped hard at the end. The two-stage cook is the whole point.
Mole poblano is a project, not a quick dinner. Clear a Sunday, toast carefully, and the sauce will outlast the afternoon.
Pozole is the weekend broth — slow-cooked pork shoulder and bloomed hominy in a deep chile broth, served with enough toppings to make every bowl different.
Birria is beef stewed in dried-chile adobo until it falls apart, served with the braising liquid as consomé. Dip a tortilla in the fat, griddle it, fill it with the meat, and dunk the whole taco back in.