Pipián Soup

Ingredients

• 6 oz (170 g / 1¾ cups) raw unhulled pumpkin seeds
• ¼ cup chile seeds
• 5 cups reduced chicken broth, divided
• 1 whole clove
• 1 whole allspice berry
• 1 garlic clove, charred over open flame and peeled
• 1 leafy stem epazote or 1 sprig mint
• 1½ cups shredded cooked chicken (pollo deshebrado), warmed
• Crumbled chile piquín, to taste
• Sea salt, to taste

Method

1. 1
   Toast pumpkin seeds in a dry heavy pan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until browned and popping. Cool completely, then grind to a fine powder in a spice grinder.
2. 2
   Toast chile seeds in the same dry pan until fragrant. Transfer to a blender with a small amount of the broth, the clove, allspice, and charred garlic. Blend until smooth.
3. 3
   Combine the blended chile mixture with the ground pumpkin seed powder and the remaining broth in a saucepan. Add the epazote stem. Simmer over medium-low heat for approximately 8 minutes, stirring regularly.
4. 4
   Remove the epazote. Strain the soup through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing the solids. Return the strained liquid to the pan.
5. 5
   Cook over medium heat, stirring, until the soup thickens slightly. Adjust salt.
6. 6
   Divide the warmed shredded chicken between four bowls. Ladle the hot soup over the chicken. Finish with crumbled chile piquín at the table.