Yucatecan Sikil Pak Pumpkin Seed Dip Platters

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups pumpkin seeds
• 1 can beans, drained and rinsed
• 4 ripe tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 small onion, quartered
• 3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
• 1 habanero or red chili
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 3 limes, 2 juiced and 1 cut into wedges
• 4 cups raw vegetable crudites
• 8 tortilla chips or tostadas
• Salt and black pepper

Steps

1. Toast the pumpkin seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly, for 4 to 5 minutes, until they puff, pop, and turn golden.
2. Do not stop stirring and take them off the moment they smell nutty. Scorched seeds turn the whole dip bitter and there is no fixing it.
3. Tip them onto a plate to cool completely, then grind them to a coarse meal in a food processor or spice grinder.
4. Char the tomatoes, onion, unpeeled garlic, and chili in the same dry pan over high heat for 8 to 10 minutes, turning, until blackened in patches and collapsing.
5. Peel the garlic and chop everything roughly, discarding the chili seeds if you want less heat.
6. Mix the ground seeds with the charred vegetables, the lime juice, the cilantro, and 1 teaspoon salt, working it into a thick, coarse paste.
7. Loosen it with a few tablespoons of water until it is scoopable but still thick. Sikil pak should hold a shape on a chip, not run off it.
8. Warm the beans through with the olive oil and season them, then serve alongside the dip with the crudites, chips, and lime wedges.

Allergen note: Contains gluten.

Use the listed quantities as a guide, adjust seasoning to taste, and cook proteins to a safe internal temperature.