From Guate, With Pepian

From Guate, With Pepian

(Originally published in Revue Magazine, copyright November 2012)

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As luck would have it, I have. Not once, but on three separate occasions with three local women as distinctive from each other in age, socioeconomic status and life experience as they could be. Each possesses a recipe for Pepian passed down to them from their mothers and aunts and grandmothers. Each family’s recipe is unique. A child born into a family who likes their Pepian thick — more like a stew than a sauce — will most likely eat it this way for his or her entire life.  He or she will prepare it for his or her child and in turn that child will prepare it for his or her child in the same manner. God forbid if that child marries someone whose mother prepared her Pepian thinner and more caldo-like as there is bound to be trouble.

Pepian amounts to a hearty, chocolate-hued stew comprised of chicken, pork, or both, carrots, potatoes, güisquil and güicoy, all swimming in an aromatic broth. Toasted tomatoes, tomatillos, cilantro and sesame and pumpkin seeds are blended into smooth gravy with the help of a blender. (Even an authentic Guatemalan kitchen is not without its modern conveniences).  It is served with rice and/or corn tortillas.  Pepian is a balanced blend of both Mayan and European influences. Seeds were widely popular in pre-Columbian Mesoamerican cooking; there is evidence that ancient cultures used squash seeds or pepitas over 4000 years prior to the first evidence of beans and more surprisingly, maiz. Meat, especially pork, is the European influence, but one is not likely to find another food as widely accepted as the national dish of Guatemala than Pepian.

Although I love the traditional version and my experiences cooking with my maestras, I wondered if Pepian could have a new life in a different culinary sphere – more Gen Y foodie and less family gathering-fare. I wanted to entertain with it, to present it to a room full of friends, serve it with glasses of wine or cocktails, after an appetizer but before a lemon soufflé. It would still, of course, need to be delicious and hearty, a dish worth sitting down for and enjoying with good company, like the original. With shrimp substituted for chicken or pork and a vibrant red sauce with a kick of heat (green sauces are all the rage in el norte, Mexico), this version is positively dinner-party ready while firmly maintaining its roots in tradition. Grab some friends and a bottle of wine – this dish deserves a party. So, round up your guinea pigs, er, taste testers, and give it a try.

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Pepian Rojo con Camarones

Prep time: 20 minutes, Cook time: 30 minutes, Total time: 50 minutes

Serves 6