Sunday, January 22, 2012

X'ikil Pak, a Mayan Dip


Served here with fresh made tortillas and boiled egg, simple and delicious.

Something very nice below from a class I taught a few weeks back. X'ikil Pak (See-keel Pack) is a nutty, sweet and bright "dip" composed of many of the usual suspects. This concoction does benefit from being stone ground in a molcatjete (Mexican mortar and pestle), but of course we are not all blessed with the patience or physique to perform such a task. So then, the blender will work well but do observe the technique described to get a good consistency.

X'ikil Pak

1 cup raw hulled pepita
2 egg tomato (around 200g)
1 clove of garlic
1/4 of a white onion (around 100g)
100ml water
chopped coriander
sea salt, to taste

  1. Toast the pepitas gently on a comal (or in a dry pan), moving frequently to ensure an even heat. They will be ready when they are lightly golden and somewhat puffed up (when raw they are quite flat, the sides will bulge). Remove from the pan and let cool.
  2. Toast the tomato, onion and garlic on a comal.
  3. Place the cooled pepitas in the blender (or molcajete) and process until quite fine, almost to a powder consistency. Add the water, salt, onion and garlic and blend again until smooth. Roughly chop the tomato and add along with the coriander. Pulse the blender a few times, leaving the tomato a little chunky. Serve with fresh tortillas.