Featured in the November 1999 issue of Texas Monthly

Cilantro—Pumpkin Seed Shrimp From El Mirador, San Antonio

Cilantro—Pumpkin Seed Sauce

1 bunch cilantro (cut off large stems)
1/4cup raw pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
1/4cup grated Parmesan cheese or queso cotija
11/2teaspoons minced garlic
1/4cup olive oil

Purée all ingredients in a blender to a pestolike consistency.

Shrimp

2 tablespoons olive oil
24 jumbo shrimp, peeled and deveined (tails on)
1/4cup white wine
1 cup heavy cream
salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add shrimp and sauté until opaque (about 2 minutes on each side). Remove from pan and keep warm. Deglaze pan with white wine and reduce over high heat for 1 minute. Add heavy cream and reduce to a tomato-sauce-like consistency. Stir in 2 to 3 tablespoons cilantro—pumpkin seed sauce and season with salt and pepper. To serve, place shrimp on plates and drizzle with sauce. Serves 6.

I've often wondered exactly what the Aztecs, Maya, and other indigenous peoples of Mexico were eating before the Spanish arrived. They didn't have the Old World's cattle, goats, or pigs and the dairy products and lard that came from them, or such European grains as wheat and rye.

The answer, of course, is that meso-Americans were eating quite well, thank you very much. They had a multitude of dishes based on corn, beans, chiles, tomatoes, avocados, and chocolate, not to mention animals such as turkeys and tender little dogs. And they had a wealth of nuts and seeds, chief among them pumpkin seeds. Those early, pre-jack-o'-lantern-type pumpkins were smaller and more varied than what we are used to, but their seeds, then as now, were delicious, especially when toasted and ground up with spices and other ingredients.

This pumpkin seed sauce from chef Paul Rodriguez is an easy-to-make variation on a traditional Mexican sauce called a pipián (pronounced peep-e-ahn). A versatile adjunct to meats, poultry, seafood, and vegetables, pipianes may be thick and coarsely textured or satiny and thin, like cream soups. Rodriguez's pestolike creation doesn't call for as much work—all the grinding, toasting, and continuous stirring—but it does have the characteristic nutty taste of pumpkin seeds balanced with the astringency of cilantro. Cheese, an Old World ingredient, adds a touch of richness.
Patricia Sharpe

Grocery
cilantro
pumpkin seeds
queso cotija or Parmesan
garlic
olive oil
jumbo shrimp
white wine
heavy cream