Squash Blossom Atápakua (Atápakua de Flor de Calabaza)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Volcanic stone molcajete for grinding the chile base
• •Comal de barro or cast iron comal for toasting chiles and roasting vegetables
• •12-inch clay cazuela, ideally Michoacán barro from Cocucho or Patamban
• •Wooden spoon for stirring the masa-thickened sauce

Instructions

1. 1

   Clean the blossoms

   Open each squash blossom gently and remove the stem end and stamen. Shake out any grit. If they need rinsing, rinse quickly and dry them well on a clean towel. Do not soak them. Flor de calabaza is delicate, and if you waterlog it, the sauce tastes tired before it reaches the cazuela.

2. 2

   Toast the guajillos

   Heat a dry comal over medium. Toast the chile guajillo one at a time, about 20 seconds per side, pressing them lightly with tongs until the skin darkens and smells fruity. They should not blacken. Put the toasted chiles in a bowl and cover with hot water for 15 minutes, then drain. Toasting wakes the chile oils. Skip it and the atápakua tastes flat.

   Guajillo burns fast once the comal is hot. If a chile turns black instead of deep red, throw it out. Bitter chile will sit in the sauce and announce your mistake.
3. 3

   Roast the fresh ingredients

   On the same comal, roast the chile perón, jitomates, onion, and unpeeled garlic. Turn them until the skins blister and the onion gets browned edges. Peel the garlic. Peel the chile perón, then remove the stem and most of the black seeds. Leave a few seeds only if you want the heat. Chile perón is floral and citrusy, not just hot. Jalapeño or serrano will give you sharp green heat, but you lose the Meseta flavor.

4. 4

   Grind the base

   In a volcanic stone molcajete, grind the roasted garlic with the salt until it becomes a paste. Add the onion, then the jitomates, then the soaked guajillo and chile perón. Work in batches if needed. The texture should be martajada, crushed and alive, not perfectly smooth. A blender works when you are feeding a crowd, but the texture changes. Si no conoces el molcajete, no conoces esta salsa.

   If using a blender, add only enough broth to move the blades. Do not make chile soup. You are building a thick sauce.
5. 5

   Prepare the masa

   Whisk the fresh masa de maíz with 1 cup of the hot broth until smooth. If using masa harina, let the paste rest for 10 minutes after mixing with warm water, then whisk it into the broth. This is the thickener. Not almonds. Not peanuts. Not pepita. Atápakua is not mole, and it is not pipián. The body comes from nixtamalized corn. Así se hace y punto.

6. 6

   Fry the sauce

   Set a clay cazuela or heavy pot over medium heat and melt the manteca de cerdo. Add the ground chile mixture carefully. It will sputter. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, for 6 to 8 minutes, until the red deepens and the fat begins to catch at the edges. La manteca es el sabor, and this frying step gives the guajillo its depth.

7. 7

   Thicken with masa

   Stir in the remaining 2 cups of hot broth, then pour in the masa mixture in a thin stream while stirring. Lower the heat and simmer for 12 to 15 minutes, scraping the bottom often. The atápakua should coat the spoon like a loose porridge and fall back into the pot in thick ribbons. If it tightens too much, add more hot broth by the spoonful.

8. 8

   Add blossoms and epazote

   Fold in the squash blossoms and the epazote sprig. Simmer 4 to 5 minutes, just until the blossoms soften into the sauce but still show their yellow color. Taste for salt. Remove the epazote before serving if the stem is woody. The blossom flavor is gentle, so do not bury it under extra chile.

9. 9

   Serve the atápakua

   Spoon the atápakua over cooked chicken pieces or poached pescado blanco. Set it in a Michoacán clay cazuela at the table with hand-pressed corn tortillas or corundas. This is food from the P'urhépecha kitchen, not a generic red sauce. Cada estado, su propia cocina.

Chef Tips

• •Buy squash blossoms in the morning. By afternoon they collapse. At the mercado, choose blossoms that are open, golden, and not slimy at the base. If the blossoms look tired, make atápakua de quelites instead. Cook what the market is selling today.
• •Chile perón is also sold as chile manzano in some markets, but in Michoacán the perón from the Meseta has its own perfume. If you cannot find it, use one yellow or orange manzano chile. Jalapeño or serrano is a last resort and you will lose the floral citrus note. Say that honestly.
• •This is not a mole and not a pipián. Pepita may flavor some Michoacán sauces, but it is not the binder here. Masa de maíz is the body. Recetas probadas y garantizadas.
• •For chicken, use light chicken broth and a little more manteca. For pescado blanco, use fish broth and keep the sauce slightly looser so it coats the fish without burying it.
• •If your masa tastes sour or stale, do not use it. Bad masa ruins the whole pot. Pregúntale a las señoras del mercado where the fresh masa was ground that morning.

Advance Preparation

• •The guajillo, chile perón, jitomate, onion, and garlic base can be roasted and ground up to one day ahead. Refrigerate it covered, then fry it in manteca when you are ready to finish the atápakua.
• •The finished sauce keeps refrigerated for two days. Reheat gently with splashes of hot broth because the masa thickens as it rests.
• •Do not add the squash blossoms until the day you serve. Their color and delicate flavor fade if they sit overnight in the sauce.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 250g)