Pascal Huasteco de Ajonjoli y Pepita

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Cast iron comal or heavy skillet
• •High-powered blender, volcanic stone molcajete, or metate
• •Wide lead-free glazed barro cazuela
• •Wooden spoon or pala for stirring the seed paste
• •Fine-mesh strainer, only if your blender leaves coarse chile skin

Instructions

1. 1

   Toast the chiles

   Heat a dry comal over medium. Toast the chile ancho one at a time, about 20 to 30 seconds per side, just until the skin softens, darkens slightly, and smells like raisins and tobacco. Toast the chipotle seco more gently because it is already smoked and can turn bitter fast. Do not blacken the chiles. Burned chile will bully the whole sauce.

   Use dried chipotle seco, not canned chipotle in adobo. The canned chile brings vinegar, sugar, and tomato where they do not belong.
2. 2

   Soak the chiles

   Put the toasted chiles in a bowl and cover them with hot water. Hot, not boiling. Let them soften for 20 minutes, then drain them and discard the soaking water. This sauce is built with stock, not with bitter chile water. The ancho should feel leathery and pliable between your fingers.

3. 3

   Toast the seeds

   Toast the sesame seeds in the dry comal or a heavy skillet over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until they turn pale gold and smell nutty. Pour them out immediately. Toast the pepitas separately until they puff, deepen to green-gold, and begin to make small popping sounds. Seeds burn from one breath to the next. Watch them like the senora who taught you is standing beside the stove.

4. 4

   Char the aromatics

   On the same comal, char the onion pieces and unpeeled garlic until they have dark spots and smell sweet. Peel the garlic. Toast the corn tortilla until it is firm with brown freckles, then tear it into pieces. The tortilla gives body without making the sauce taste like flour. Flour tortillas belong to the north. This is Veracruz Huasteca.

5. 5

   Grind the sauce

   In a blender, combine the soaked chiles, toasted sesame, toasted pepitas, charred onion, peeled garlic, toasted tortilla, salt, and 2 cups warm stock. Blend longer than you think you need, stopping to scrape the sides, until the mixture becomes a thick, smooth paste. A metate gives better texture, yes, but a blender works if you respect the grinding. No me vengas con atajos that leave gritty seeds in the sauce.

   If your blender struggles, add stock 1/4 cup at a time. Add only enough to move the blades. You want paste first, sauce later.
6. 6

   Fry the paste

   Heat the manteca de cerdo in a wide cazuela or heavy pot over medium heat. Add the blended seed paste carefully. It will sputter and thicken like wet masa. Stir with a wooden spoon or pala for 8 to 10 minutes, scraping the bottom so the seeds do not scorch. The color will deepen from tan to ocher-brown and the lard will start to shine at the edges. La manteca es el sabor.

7. 7

   Simmer with epazote

   Whisk in 2 more cups warm stock until the sauce loosens and moves like heavy cream. Add the epazote sprigs and simmer gently for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring often. The sauce should coat the spoon thickly but still pour. If it tightens too much, add more stock. Taste for salt. Epazote cuts the richness of the seeds. Leave it out and the pascal tastes heavy.

8. 8

   Serve the pascal

   Remove the epazote sprigs. If serving with chicken or turkey, nestle the warm pieces into the sauce and simmer 8 to 10 minutes so the meat takes the flavor. Spoon into a glazed barro cazuela and finish with toasted sesame seeds. Serve with warm corn tortillas. This is a table dish, not a little decorative drizzle. Asi se hace y punto.

Chef Tips

• •The Huasteca is a region, not one state. This version is Veracruz Huasteca, but you will see relatives of it in San Luis Potosi and Hidalgo. Cada estado, su propia cocina, and every town will defend its ratio of ajonjoli to pepita.
• •Buy raw sesame and raw hulled pepitas from a mercado with turnover. Pre-toasted seeds from a supermarket taste tired before they touch the comal.
• •Chipotle seco means dried smoked jalapeno. Chipotle meco gives a deeper smoke, chipotle morita gives a fruitier one. Either is better than canned chipotle in adobo for this sauce.
• •If you do not eat pork, use rendered chicken or turkey fat. Neutral oil will work in the mechanical sense, but it tastes flatter. A substitution is a compromise, not an upgrade.
• •The sauce thickens as it rests because the seeds keep drinking stock. Do not panic. Loosen it with warm stock and stir slowly over low heat.

Advance Preparation

• •The pascal can be made up to 3 days ahead. Cool it, refrigerate it, and reheat slowly with warm stock until it loosens back to a spoonable sauce.
• •Toast the seeds and chiles up to 1 day ahead, but keep them in separate covered containers. Once ground, the seeds release their oils and the clock starts.
• •Cook the chicken or turkey and make the stock 1 day ahead. Pascal is only as good as the stock you use to loosen it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 410g)