Chicken With Pumpkin Seeds
- 1 whole chicken, about 3 pounds
- Salt and pepper
- 1 medium carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 medium onion, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 celery stalk, trimmed and roughly chopped
- 1 cup hulled pumpkin seeds
- 3 or 4 ancho chilies
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled
- Lime juice to taste
- Chopped cilantro leaves for garnish
- Put chicken in a pot in which it fits snugly, with salt, pepper, carrot, onion, celery and water to barely cover.
- Cover, bring to boil and adjust heat for a steady simmer.
- Cook until chicken is almost done, about 40 minutes.
- (It's all right if some traces of blood remain.)
- Meanwhile, toast seeds, if not already toasted, in a dry skillet over medium heat, shaking and stirring constantly for a minute or two, until seeds start to puff.
- (Overcooking will make sauce bitter; seeds may pop.)
- Remove chicken; strain and reserve stock.
- Cool chicken, remove meat from bones, shred by hand.
- (This can all be done a day or so in advance.)
- Soak chilies in 3 cups of hot stock until tender, about 10 minutes.
- Remove stems and seeds and put the flesh in a blender, with pumpkin seeds, garlic and enough stock to let machine work; puree.
- Combine the sauce, chicken, the liquid in which the chilies soaked, and about a cup of the remaining stock (or a little water) in saucepan and cook gently until heated through and thick, 10 to 20 minutes.
- Add salt and pepper to taste and, just before serving, some lime juice.
- Garnish with cilantro.
- Serve with white rice.
chicken, salt, carrot, onion, celery stalk, pumpkin seeds, ancho chilies, garlic, lime juice, cilantro
Taken from cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/12079 (may not work)