"Aria" > wrote in message
news:gPWub.11786$iS6.59@fed1read04...
> Well, I made the pipian sauce. My husband kept spitting out the sauce
saying
> that the shells were too tough. He hated it. I thought that it was ok, but
> honestly, nothing special. It wasn't even in the least bit spicy. I have a
> ton of leftovers. Are there pumpkin seeds that are already shelled? At any
> rate, it was a disappointment after all the work. Any suggestions?
>
> Aria

I don't know what recipe you used but the pumpkin seeds should have been
hulled, as others have pointed out. My favorite recipe is derived from Rick
Bayless' "Authentic Mexican". In addition to anchos Bayless adds canned
chipotles which add more heat. He also has a ritual of prep that works very
well for me on a wide variety of moles. Frying the chiles in fat; toasting
and "popping" the pepitas; using whole spices and grinding; pureeing the
ingredients then straining; sautéing the strained ingredients till
concentrated then simmering with home made broth.

Basically:
You fry stemmed, seeded and deveined ancho (dried poblano) chiles with a bit
of vegetable oil (or lard) over medium heat until lightly toasted then
remove chiles to a bowl and cover with boiling water (weighed down with a
plate) for 30 minutes. Sauté onion slices until almost brown then add
garlic cloves to the sauté pan and sauté for a few minutes more. Remove to
another large bowl and wipe out skillet. Reduce heat to medium low and add
pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds) and heat for about 5 or so minutes until the
seeds "pop" and are lightly toasted. Place in bowl with garlic and onion
but reserve some for garnish. Grind spices (use whole spices for best
flavor) using a spice grinder (Bayless uses black peppercorns, allspice,
cinnamon and cloves) and add to the onion bowl. Add dried thyme, white
bread (diced, crustless), skinned roasted peanuts, canned chipotles (seeded
and chopped) and the drained chiles and puree in a food processor or blender
along with broth. This mixture should be very smooth. Strain this mixture
through a medium mesh sieve (I have a tamis that is medium mesh which speeds
up the straining process - I don't remember where I found this though) than
cook in a sauce pan over medium high heat for about 5 minutes until
concentrated. Add broth, reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer for
about 1 hour. Correct seasoning with salt and sugar. Strain off excess
fat. Garnish with reserved pepitas and raw sweet onion rings.

I hope that this helps!

Kate