Green Pumpkin Seed Sauce Recipes

Steps:

• In a large skillet with high sides or in a large saucepan, toast the pumpkin seeds, cumin seeds, and oregano over high heat. Toss to make sure they don't burn, but toast until fragrant, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer to a blender or spice grinder and process until ground. Set aside.
• In the same skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, tomatillos, garlic, and jalapeños and cook until slightly browned, 4 to 5 minutes, tossing a couple of times, but not stirring too much. Carefully place the vegetables in a blender or food processor. Then add the broth, cilantro, parsley, epazote (if using), and salt and process until puréed. Pour back into the skillet and add the ground pumpkin seed mixture. Let simmer until flavors are well combined, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Serve immediately. Any leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for a couple of days.

Steps:

• To make the sauce: Bring a large kettle 2/3 full of lightly salted water to a boil and add the spinach. Cook until the spinach is wilted, about 1 minute. Immediately drain and plunge the spinach into a large bowl of cold water to stop cooking. When cool, drain the spinach and squeeze it with your hands to extract as much liquid as possible. Transfer to a blender and add the seeds, tarragon, parsley, garlic, zest and stock. Season with salt and pepper and process until very smooth. With the motor running, drizzle in the olive oil. Set aside.
• To make the chicken, halve each breast. Using a sharp knife, score the skin of each in 3 places and sprinkle each breast with a pinch of red-pepper flakes and salt and pepper.
• Heat 2 large, heavy skillets, preferably cast iron, over high heat until very hot. Spray or brush skin side of each breast with olive oil and place skin-side down in one of the skillets. Spray the top of the breasts with oil and place the second skillet on top of the breasts, weighing it down with a foil-covered brick or a similar weight. Lower the heat to medium and cook until cooked through, 6 to 10 minutes depending on thickness.
• To serve, gently heat the sauce over low heat. Pour a pool of sauce on each of 4 dinner plates. Slice the chicken breasts on the bias and fan the slices over the sauce and serve immediately with mashed beans or mashed potatoes.

Steps:

• 1. Prepare the sauce. Then, if you are cutting up the ducks yourself, rinse the ducks and pat dry. With a boning knife, cut the leg and thigh away from the body in one piece. Repeat for all leg-thigh pieces. Cut all of the breast halves away from the carcass, leaving the skin attached. (Use carcasses for stock, if desired, or discard.) Trim excess fat from all the duck pieces. Season with salt and pepper. 2. Preheat the oven to 350°. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat and cook the leg-thigh pieces, turning frequently, until browned on both sides, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to an ovenproof casserole dish. 3. In the same skillet, cook the onion 3 to 4 minutes. Put in the casserole dish with the duck. Cover and bake in preheated oven about 1 1/2 hours, or until the duck is very tender. If cooked ahead, cover and refrigerate up to 1 day. 4. About 30 minutes before serving, reheat the legs in a 250° oven. Reheat the pumpkin seed sauce and keep warm. Heat a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Place the duck breasts skin side down in the dry hot pan. Cook, without turning, until the skin is nicely browned and crisp, about 10 minutes. (Fat renders as the meat cooks. Take care not to let the skin blacken.) Turn and cook the second side 4 to 5 minutes for medium-rare, about 6 minutes for medium. 5. Transfer to a plate and let rest 4 to 5 minutes. Slice the duck breasts and arrange on a serving platter along with the cooked legs. Spoon some of the sauce over the duck. Pass remaining sauce at the table.From "1,000 Mexican Recipes." Copyright 2001 by Marge Poore. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Steps:

• Heat a heavy Dutch oven or saucepan over medium heat and add the pumpkin seeds. Wait until you hear one pop, then stir constantly until they have puffed and popped, and smell toasty. They should not get any darker than golden or they will taste bitter. Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool.
• Place the cooled pumpkin seeds in a blender and add the tomatillos, chiles, lettuce, onion, garlic, cilantro, and 1/2 cup of the chicken stock. Cover the blender and blend the mixture until smooth, stopping the blender to stir if necessary.
• Heat the oil in the Dutch oven or heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Drizzle in a bit of the pumpkin seed mixture and if it sizzles, add the rest. Cook, stirring, until the mixture darkens and thickens, 8 to 10 minutes. It will splutter, so be careful. Hold the lid of the pot above the pot to shield you and your stove from the splutters. Add the remaining chicken stock, bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered, stirring often, until the sauce is thick and creamy, 15 to 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt. For a silkier sauce, blend again in batches.