Edible San Diego

Egg Enchiladas with Pepita and Tomato-Lime Sauces (Papadzules)

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Photography by Michael Aaron Gardiner for Edible San Diego

Make enchiladas for breakfast with this recipe inspired by a traditional dish from the Yucatan Peninsula

Papadzules—essentially egg-filled tortillas with two sauces—is a pre-Columbian dish of Mayan origin that was the forerunner of today’s enchiladas. The keys to this dish is the intriguing combination of hard-boiled eggs, a pumpkin seed sauce, and a tomato-based sauce with a slight kick from habanero.

Ingredients


Serves 6

PEPITA SAUCE

  • 3 cups raw shelled pepitas (pumpkins seeds) 
  • 3 cups vegetable stock 
  • Kosher salt ‍

TOMATO-LIME SAUCE

  • 6 Roma tomatoes, halved 
  • 2 tablespoons grapeseed, corn, canola or other neutral-flavored oil 
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable stock 
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped oregano 
  • 4 limes, juiced 
  • ¼ habanero chile, seeded and minced ‍

ENCHILADAS

  • 12 warm corn tortillas 
  • 8 hard-boiled eggs (6 chopped, 2 minced, divided)
  • Cilantro leaves, for garnish

Instructions

  • Make the pepita sauce: Add the pepitas to a large frying pan over medium-high heat and cook, stirring constantly until they begin to color and pop, about 5 minutes. Transfer the pepitas to the bowl of a food processor or high-speed blender. Process the pepitas until they achieve the consistency of beach sand, remembering to periodically scrape down the sides. Continue processing and feeding the stock in a steady stream until the sauce reaches the consistency of a thin mayonnaise. Season to taste with salt. 
  • Make the tomato-lime sauce: Combine all of the ingredients in a medium saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover the saucepan, and simmer the sauce until the tomatoes lose their consistency, about 20 minutes. Working in batches, transfer the sauce to the bowl of a food processor or high-speed blender and purée the sauce. Season to taste with salt. The two sauces can be made a day ahead and refrigerated.
  • Assemble the enchiladas: Preheat the oven to 350°. Dip one tortilla in the pepita sauce and transfer to a plate. Fill the tortilla with 2 tablespoons of the chopped hard-boiled egg. Roll the enchilada and place it in the baking dish. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and cover with foil. Bake the enchiladas just long enough for them to heat through, about 5 minutes.
  • To serve, place three enchiladas on a plate, aligning them diagonally. Spoon a line of the pepita sauce along the diagonal, passing through the center of each of the enchiladas, then a line of the tomato-lime sauce along the opposing diagonal and garnish with the minced egg and cilantro.
contributor11396

Michael Aaron Gardiner

Michael Gardiner is the author of Modern Kosher: Global Flavors, New Traditions (Rizzoli, 2020) and Cali-Baja Cuisine: Ensenada Aguachiles, Tijuana Taco Stands and San Diego Cali Burritos (Rizzoli, September 2023). He is a regular food feature writer for Edible San Diego and The San Diego Union-Tribune, contributing editor for The Cook’s Cook, and freelanced for Tasting Table,Thrillist, and other publications. Gardiner was the long-time weekly restaurant reviewer for San Diego CityBeat before its closure in 2020. Gardiner has won San Diego Press Club awards every year since 2018.