Pepián (Guatemalan Spiced Chicken Stew)

Guatemala''s national dish — chicken in a toasted seed and chile sauce.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs chicken pieces (thighs and drumsticks)
• 3 dried guajillo chiles
• 2 tomatoes, charred
• 1 onion, charred
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds), toasted
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
• 1 corn tortilla, toasted until crisp
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 cups chicken stock
• Potatoes, green beans, chayote squash

Method

1. Toast chiles, soak 15 min. Char tomatoes and onion.

2. Toast pepitas, sesame seeds, and tortilla until golden.

3. Blend chiles, tomatoes, onion, garlic, seeds, tortilla, cinnamon with 1 cup stock until smooth.

4. Fry the sauce in oil 5 min. Add remaining stock and chicken. Simmer 40 min.

5. Add potatoes, green beans, chayote in last 20 min.

What You're Practicing

• Pepián is Guatemala''s answer to Mexican mole — a complex sauce built from toasted seeds, chiles, and aromatics.
• The toasted tortilla acts as a thickener — same concept as using bread to thicken a Spanish romesco.