We were lucky enough to recently spend some time in the Yucatán Peninsula and sample its distinctive regional cuisine. Our hubs for exploration were the cities of Mérida and Valladolid, where the Maya influence on food and culture in general are strongly felt. Whenever we are in Mexico we absolutely love to try all of the regional specialties, and this is one area where the Yucatán truly excelled. One of the favorite dishes we had in the Yucatán Peninsula was Sikil Pak, strongly influenced by traditional Maya ingredients. Sikil Pak consists of roasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds), roasted tomatoes and chiles. This dish is actually pretty self-explanatory because in the Yucatec Mayan language the words Sikil means pumpkin/pumpkin seeds and Pak means tomato. The roasted pepitas and tomatoes give the dip a smoky flavor, and the texture is somewhat similar to a thick hummus.
We had many versions of Sikil Pak across many restaurants in the region, which all varied slightly. Some places we got great Sikil Pak was IX CAT IK Tradicional Cocina Maya (C. 39 158, Militar, 97782 Valladolid, Yuc.), Restaurante Kinich Izamal (Calle 27.299y 28y 30, Centro, 97540 Izamal, Yuc.) and Yerbabuena de Sisal (C. 54a 217, Sisal, 97780 Valladolid, Yuc.). We highly recommend them all. The recipe itself is not very hard to make, and we have seen lots of different takes from chefs – Jonathan Zaragoza, Rick Bayless, and Pati Jinich – all relying on the same main elements of roasted tomatoes and pumpkin seeds. We tried to make some Sikil Pak ourselves, but trying to roast the pepitas and tomatoes is how we found out our oven is, in fact, broken! Once we get a new oven this may be one of the recipes we try.
Eating The World 