I love the taste of pepitas or, as some people refer to them, pumpkin seeds. Many moons ago I discovered a mole made with pepitas called pipián. It was love at first bite—something a little more delicate than mole but still creamy smooth and with a slight spicy taste. I knew pipián sauce and I were going to be lasting friends.
I started to experiment with making the sauce but found it took hours to craft, and I didn't like that part of the process. I thought, "how in the world can I move this dish along at a much faster pace and still have my precious pipián sauce?"
I found the sauce in a jar at the market in a concentrated form where you just add broth to bring it to life, which makes it easy to add on top of chicken or enchiladas. In other words: Pourable. My hands reached for several jars and different brands to see which I liked best. I found these jars do the trick. I added a few more ingredients to the mix and suddenly had a beautiful meal on my table in no time.
I like to make a gorgeous poached piece of salmon and use that as my filling for enchiladas along with some sauteed onions and tomatoes. Then, roll the moist salmon in slightly fried corn tortillas, place them in a baking dish and pour my semi-homemade pipián sauce up top. My family are I able to enjoy a delicious meal that didn't take a lifetime to make, and in turn, I'm able to spend time with my toddler son, fiancé, my mom and whoever else I invite over for dinner. It's that kind of meal—you'll want to invite people over for dinner.
RELATED: Sopa Fácil de Pollo y Tortilla
RECIPE: Salmon Enchiladas in a Cranberry Pipián Sauce
Ingredients
● 1 1⁄2 pounds of fresh salmon
● 1⁄2 teaspoon sea salt
● 1 teaspoon garlic powder
● 2 bay leaves
● 1⁄2 teaspoons ground cumin
● 1 teaspoon dried oregano
● 1⁄2 teaspoon black pepper
● 2 tablespoons olive oil
● 4 cups chicken broth
● 1 large onion (diced)
● 1⁄2 teaspoon dried basil
● 1 large tomato (diced)
● 1 cup pipian sauce (I use Dona Maria, or Rogelio Bueno)
● 1⁄3 cup dried cranberries
● salt to taste
● 1 cup vegetable oil
● 16 corn tortillas (king size)
● 1 cup crumbled queso fresco
● 1⁄4 cup pepitas
Directions
-
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
-
In a Pyrex dish, add salmon and sprinkle with sea salt, garlic powder, bay leaves, cumin, oregano and black pepper. Then drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil on top and pour in all 4 cups of chicken broth on the side of the dish so that the seasoning doesn't wash off the top of the salmon. Place in the oven uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes.
-
While salmon is poaching … In a pan over a medium flame, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and allow to get hot. Then add in onion and dried basil. Sauté for 5 minutes, then add in tomatoes and continue to sauté for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from flame and set to the side.
-
Once salmon is poached, remove from oven and remove the salmon from the baking dish and place in a bowl; set aside to cool. Use the remaining broth in the baking dish to make the pipián. It should measure out to 4 cups.
-
While the broth is still hot, add it to a blender along with 1 cup pipián sauce and dried cranberries. Blend on high until smooth and fully blended. Set to the side.
-
Using a fork, break the salmon into small pieces and make sure there are no bones. Then mix in the sauteed onion and tomato. Add a little salt to taste. Set to the side.
-
In a small frying pan over a medium-low flame, add vegetable oil and allow to get hot. Fry the corn tortillas on each side for 1 minute or until slightly hard but still bendable.
-
Once all tortillas are fried, fill them with 2 tablespoons of salmon mixture and a pinch of queso freso, then roll into a tube shape and place into to a baking dish. Repeat until baking dish is filled.
-
Then pour pipián sauce over the top of the rolled salmon enchiladas and place in the oven for 10 minutes at 400º F.
-
Remove from oven and garnish the top with pepitas and dried cranberries.
RELATED: Bistec Asado a la Perfección
