Cacalas (Toasted Guaje Seeds with Lime and Salt)

Cacalas are a traditional snack from Zacualpan de Amilpas in the Morelos region of central Mexico, made from the dried seeds of Leucaena leucocephala — the guaje tree, whose pods and seeds have been eaten in Mexico since pre-Hispanic times. The seeds are slow-toasted dry, then finished with lime juice and sea salt until every seed is lightly crusted and fragrant. The result is something between a roasted nut and a salted seed: faintly grassy, pleasantly bitter at the back of the palate, and deeply satisfying as a simple afternoon snack or a table nibble alongside mezcal. Diana Kennedy encountered this preparation in the village markets of Morelos, where guaje seeds — fresh, dried, or ground — appear in everything from salsas to moles. Cacalas represent the simplest expression of the ingredient: nothing added but acid and salt, nothing removed but moisture.