Mayan Pumpkin Seed Dip

by Cindi Sutter, Founder of The Spirited Table® - Recipe adapted by Sprouted Kitchen from Food and Wine 2013

I have an overflowing clipboard of recipes I've ripped out from magazines. You read that correctly, clipboard, probably not the right tool for the task but I love them. In my other life of wanting to be a director or boss of something I carry clipboards around and wear trendy glasses and carry almond milk lattes and graciously boss people around. Though I'm sure real boss people these days use their phones. Alas, I suppose I am the boss of my kitchen so therein my clipboard lies. This recipe came from the stack and I can remember exactly when I ripped it out - on an airplane along with a tortilla soup recipe that suggested a nub of butter to make the broth silky smooth and I still do that. There are about three or four dips or dressings on this site that are different amounts of the same-ish ingredients and I can't help it, I like what I like. When our quick meals are sandwiches, bowls of leftovers, salads and tacos, it's the spreads and dressings that bring the otherwise average meals to life. Our fridge sometimes has 8+ jars of things up top but they are my arsenal for quick meals. Many things can be thrown over rice or in a tortilla and qualify as dinner with a good sauce. My best lunch this week was this sauce, roasted sweet potatoes (which I already make a big batch of for Cleo), my fave feta and more herbs in toasty corn tortillas. Hope you can find a good home for it too. 

The original recipe said to remove the jalapeno seeds but I strongly disagree. The dip needs the heat for flavor and there is enough fat here to mellow it out. It could handle two peppers if you really like spicy. I'm a baby with spice and I know every pepper is different but I threw in the whole thing and it was great. 

Serves 8

Ingredients
1 cup pumpkin seeds
2 Tbsp. grapeseed or other neutral oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup chopped shallots (about 4)
1 large jalapeno, stemmed and chopped
sea salt, to taste
1/3 cup each parsley and cilantro
juice of one lime
1/4 cup orange juice
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup water

Instructions

1. In a saucepan over medium heat, toast your pumpkin seeds until just fragrant, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a food processor. 
2. Add the oil to the pan to warm up. Add the garlic, shallot, jalapeno and a generous pinch of salt. Saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer to the food processor to cool. Add the parsley and cilantro, lime juice, orange juice, oil, water and another pinch of salt. 
3. Run the processor until combined but still a little chunky. Add water or citrus to loosen if needed - you want it to be more like guacamole than nut butter. Salt to taste. 
4. The dip will keep in the fridge for a week, where I believe it gets better.