Papadzules

Ingredients

• 250 g hulled raw pumpkin seeds
• 900 ml water
• 3 large sprigs epazote
• 1.5 tsp fine salt
• 6 eggs
• 12 corn tortillas
• 600 g ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 1/2 white onion, quartered
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 habanero chilli
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil or lard

Before you cook

• Pick over the pumpkin seeds and discard any broken green husks.
• Chop the tomatoes roughly and quarter the onion.
• Set out a wide shallow bowl for dipping the tortillas and a small cup for the reserved oil.

Steps

1. Toast the pumpkin seeds in a dry heavy pan over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until they smell nutty and darken a shade but never brown.
2. Tip the seeds onto a tray and leave them to cool completely, about 10 minutes.
3. Grind the cooled seeds in a spice grinder or blender in batches until they are a fine, faintly damp powder.
4. Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan with the epazote and 1 teaspoon of the salt.
5. Turn off the heat and let the epazote steep for 10 minutes, then lift the sprigs out.
6. Put the ground seeds in a bowl and pour over 150 ml of the warm epazote water.
7. Knead the paste with your hand for 2 minutes, squeezing it hard against the side of the bowl until beads of dark green oil rise to the surface.
8. Tilt the bowl and spoon that green oil into the small cup, then set it aside for the finish.
9. Tip the seed paste into a blender with 600 ml of the epazote water and blend until completely smooth.
10. Pour the sauce into a saucepan and warm it over low heat, stirring, until it thickens enough to coat a spoon, holding it just below a simmer so it never splits.
11. Lower the eggs into a pan of boiling water and cook them for 9 minutes.
12. Drain the eggs, cool them under cold running water, peel them and chop them coarsely.
13. Put the tomatoes, onion, garlic and whole habanero in a saucepan with 100 ml water and simmer for 12 minutes, until the tomatoes collapse.
14. Lift out the habanero, then blend the rest to a smooth sauce and season with the remaining salt.
15. Heat the oil in a frying pan, pour in the tomato sauce and cook it for 5 minutes until it darkens and thickens.
16. Warm the tortillas one by one on a dry comal for 20 seconds a side, until soft and pliable.
17. Dip a warm tortilla into the pumpkin seed sauce, lay it on a plate, spoon chopped egg down the middle and roll it up.
18. Roll the rest the same way, laying three on each plate.
19. Ladle more pumpkin seed sauce over the rolls until they are completely covered.
20. Spoon a stripe of tomato sauce across the middle and drizzle the reserved green oil over the top.