Hola Mi Gente,
If you’ve been following along for a while, you know by now that my parents are Guatemalan immigrants. They moved here in 1986 and over their 30+ years, have built a lot of life and community here. As the last couple of weeks have unfolded, I’ve found myself being grateful over, and over again for the gift of being their child, and straddling two cultures growing up. I will confess that as I’ve gotten older, I cling more and more to Guatemalan culture.
A few weeks ago, I was at a few graduations. Like graduations tend to go, I was looping in and out of attention between speeches, and awards. There was one point though, that caught my attention completely: a young woman of Mexican descent, began to thank her parents–in Spanish. She proceeded to speak in Spanglish (unapologetically) throughout her speech, and ended with thanking immigrant parents for their work and sacrifice. I was in ugly tears.
Throughout the years I have been thankless at times at the decision my parents made to move here and raise us in the US. Although my dad grew up speaking English, my mom still had to learn to speak it. She had to leave her family, education, and support system behind. She had to convince people that she was skilled and capable despite what they thought based on her accent. My father learned to become the token Latino in the business world of our small town. Taking on a lot of micro-aggressions based on the color of his skin as he rose to be the President of the Realtor Board.
So this post, it’s dedicated to them. And to any other parent that has made the choice to immigrate. Not because it is easy, but because they want the very best for themselves, and their children. This post is in direct gratitude for all the times I had to stand in the corner because I spoke English at home (they refused to let me forget Spanish). It goes out in gratitude for the rich and diverse community of Latin-Americans that they built for us. For every snide comment they have endured.
When I cook meals like this, I feel like I’m channeling all my abuelas. I think lovingly about how many generations before me cooked meals like this. Hand grinding the sesame and pepita. It makes me proud to come from a culture where recipes like this one have existed for centuries. Where they’ve been cultivated and perfected (and made easier by things like blenders and stoves) over generations. I like to think that some day, I’ll pass this recipe on to my own kids. That they’ll be familiar with the process, but eventually curious enough to make it themselves. Maybe when they’re off at college missing home, or inviting their own communities into parts of their culture. I hope they’ll tell their people about their grandparents, and their bravery. I hope they’ll be proud to engage with this part of their culture. I am.
About These Sabores
This dish has some of my favorite elements of Guatemalan cooking: toasted sesame and pepita seeds. This combination has this sort of nutty, earthy flavor that brings balance to highly acidic dishes (cue: tomatillo). It also acts as a thickening agent in this stew.
I am making the recipe for this stew Vegan/Vegetarian here. Jocón is traditionally served over rice with chicken. Some folks cook their chicken in the stew. If you want to do this, a really easy way to do it is to put a few pieces of skinless, boneless chicken + the stew in your Instant Pot and place on the meat/stew setting for 20 minutes. This will cook the chicken until it is shredded into the stew. Personally, I love to roast my chicken and cook it separately. I do this because it gives me a different color to this monochromatic green-scheme (guilty of loving beautiful plated food over here), but also because I really just love my recipe for roast chicken, and it brings in some really delicious and deep flavors of it’s own to this dish.
Love, love, love,
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Jocón: Guatemalan Green Stew
Ingredients
- 1/2 C Sesame Seeds
- 1/2 C Pepita (Pumpkin Seeds)
- 2 Green Bell Peppers Seeded and Sliced
- 3 Jalapeños Seeded and Sliced
- 1 Bunch Cilantro Roughly Chopped
- 12-15 Tomatillos Husks Removed
- 1 Onion Peeled and Cut in Half
- 6 C Water
- 2 TSP Goya Adobo All-Purpose Seasoning
- 2-4 TBSP Kosher Salt
Instructions
- Heat a non-stick pan over medium high heat, and begin to dry roast sesame seeds until they are golden brown (about 2-3 minutes). Set aside, and repeat this process with your pumpkin seeds.
- In a large pot or dutch oven, place bell and jalapeño peppers, tomatillos, onion, and water and bring to a boil. Boil for 10 minutes, until the tomatillo is blistered and softened.
- Transfer whole items from your dutch oven/pot into a blender, along with three cups of the reserved water from the pot. Add in cilantro, and toasted sesame and pumpkin seeds. Blend on high until you have a smooth texture, and return to your dutch oven or pot. Bring to a low simmer, and add in Goya seasoning. Add in salt one TBSP at a time, tasting in between for your preference.
- Serve over rice with chicken, if desired, and enjoy!
Mary-Beth Johnson
Mary-Beth is a creative, food-obsessed, Georgia transplant living Chicago. She is proudly and fiercely Latina, and more specifically Chapina. In her day to day she is a food educator to students around Chicagoland aged 3 to 80+, both virtually and in-person. She is passionate about cultivating the truth that every person has an understanding of food that deserves being brought to the table, and that time in the kitchen can be sacred, passionate, and an act of love for self and others. Outside the kitchen you can find her at the intersections of infertility, chronic illness, and a deep love for the dignity of all humans. She hopes to create a space that is holistic about the role of food in the social, political, relational, and physiological dynamics of our world.
