Guatemalan · main

Pepián de Pollo

Pepián de Pollo reads umami 5.3, salinity 4.8 and warm spice 4.0 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Guatemalan main, about 2 hr 4 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 5.8 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 3.3 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 3.6 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 2.5 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 4.3 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 4.8 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 5.3 · Salinity 4.8 · Warm Spice 4.0 · Allium 3.8 · Richness 3.4 · Sourness 3.0 · Floral 2.9 · Herbaceous 2.8 · Nutty 2.7 · Fruity 2.6 · Sweetness 2.3 · Earthy 2.2 · Citrus 1.8 · Heat 1.6 · Bitterness 1.2 · Smoke 0.8

What's in it (18)

• chicken — 1600 g
• pumpkin seeds — 120 g
• sesame seeds — 60 g
• chiles guaque — 400 g
• ground pasilla negro chili — 200 g
• chile zambo — 100 g
• tomatoes — 500 g
• tomatillo — 250 g
• onion — 180 g
• garlic — 24 g
• canela — 2 g
• cloves — 400 g
• corn tortillas — 200 g
• potatoes — 400 g
• green beans — 300 g
• chicken stock — 1500 g
• salt — 15 g
• cilantro — 30 g

Time & effort: about 2 hr 4 min (1 hr 44 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 109.9 kcal, 7.2 g protein, 5.1 g fat, 11.3 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (9 steps)

1. Pepián is one of the four dishes the Guatemalan Ministry of Culture named as intangible cultural patrimony in 2007, and it is the oldest of them — a recado of toasted seeds and chiles that predates the Spanish arrival in its structure, with the pork and chicken arriving later. Everything is toasted dry on a comal before anything is blended, and that toasting is the dish.
2. Poach the chicken in the stock with half the onion and a teaspoon of salt for 30 minutes, until just cooked through. Lift it out and keep the broth.
3. Toast the pepitas on a dry comal or heavy pan over medium heat, shaking constantly, for 4 minutes until they puff and pop and go golden. Tip them out at once. Toast the sesame the same way for 2 minutes until sandy gold. Both burn in seconds and burnt seeds make a bitter recado that cannot be fixed.
4. Toast the chiles flat on the comal for 20 to 30 seconds a side, pressing them down until they smell sweet and turn a shade darker — they must not blacken. Cover them with hot broth and soak 20 minutes.
5. On the same comal, char the tomatoes, miltomates, remaining onion half and the unpeeled garlic until they are blistered and blackened in patches, 10 to 12 minutes, turning. Peel the garlic. Toast the canela and cloves for 30 seconds, and dry the tortillas until brittle.
6. Blend the seeds, chiles, charred vegetables, spices and tortillas with 500 ml of the broth until very smooth, then push it through a sieve. The tortilla is the thickener and gives the sauce its particular body — this is not a roux and not a nut butter.
7. Fry the strained recado in a heavy pot over medium heat for 12 minutes, stirring, until it darkens to a deep brick brown and the fat rises to the surface. This step decides the colour and depth of the finished pepián.
8. Add the rest of the broth, the potatoes and green beans, and simmer 20 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Return the chicken for 10 minutes to warm through and take on the sauce. Season, scatter the cilantro, and serve with white rice and tortillas.
9. Substitutions: chipotle can stand in for the chile zambo.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Pilau ya Nyama ya Mbuzi (Swahili Goat Pilau) — Swahili Coast
• Spiced Ground Turkey Curry with Peas — Indian
• Chicken Jalfrezi with Peppers and Onions — Indian
• Mole Coloradito con Pollo — Mexican · Oaxaca
• Kak'ik — Guatemalan

Keep reading: what umami, salinity, warm spice mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.