Papadzules (Eggs and Asparagus in Tortillas With Pepita Sauce)

By Rick A. Martinez

Papadzules (Eggs and Asparagus in Tortillas With Pepita Sauce)
Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
50 minutes
Rating
4(204)
Notes
Read community notes

A dish from the Yucatán Peninsula in southeastern Mexico, papadzules are similar to enchiladas in that they feature tortillas that are dipped and coated in a sauce, then filled, rolled and topped with more sauce. Traditionally, papadzules are served with hard-boiled eggs and topped with a toasted pepita sauce and a spicy habanero-tomato salsa. In this late-spring version, jammy eggs and blanched asparagus serve as the filling, and an uncooked sauce of pepitas and jalapeños finishes everything off. Be sure to cook the eggs for the full 6½ minutes or the yolks will be too runny.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • Ice
  • 10large eggs
  • 1pound asparagus, woody ends trimmed, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 8corn tortillas, preferably blue corn
  • 1¾cups pepitas (raw pumpkin seeds)
  • 3scallions, root ends trimmed, chopped
  • 2garlic cloves, peeled and lightly crushed
  • 2jalapeños, stemmed and roughly chopped
  • ⅓cup cilantro leaves and tender stems
  • 1tablespoon fresh lime juice, plus more to taste
  • Kosher salt
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

701 calories; 43 grams fat; 10 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 15 grams monounsaturated fat; 15 grams polyunsaturated fat; 52 grams carbohydrates; 10 grams dietary fiber; 17 grams sugars; 42 grams protein; 1216 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Fill a large bowl with ice and water. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil over medium-high heat. Using a slotted spoon, carefully lower the eggs into the water. Cook, adjusting the heat to maintain a gentle boil, for 6½ minutes for jammy eggs with a soft and runny yolk (or longer for medium- or hard-boiled eggs). Transfer the eggs to the bowl of ice water and chill until just slightly warm, about 2 minutes. (Keep the water boiling.) Gently crack the eggs all over and peel, starting from the wider end, which contains the air pocket. That gap between egg and shell makes peeling easier. Cut the eggs into quarters. Set 8 quarters aside for serving.

  2. Step 2

    Add the asparagus to the same pot of boiling water and cook until bright green and crisp-tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Drain, transfer to a medium bowl and let sit until ready to assemble.

  3. Step 3

    Heat a tortilla in a small skillet over medium heat, turning once, until warm, about 1 minute. Wrap in a clean kitchen towel or foil. Repeat with the remaining tortillas, stacking and wrapping them in the towel.

  4. Step 4

    Reserve ¼ cup pepitas and ¼ cup scallions for garnish. Combine remaining pepitas, remaining scallions, the garlic, jalapeños, cilantro, lime juice, 3 cups water and salt (1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt or 2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal) in the jar of a blender. Purée until smooth and the consistency of heavy cream. Taste and season with salt and lime juice if necessary. Transfer to a medium bowl.

  5. Step 5

    Working one at a time and using tongs, dip a tortilla into the purée, turning to completely coat in sauce. Transfer to a baking sheet as you go.

  6. Step 6

    Arrange 4 egg quarters and a few pieces of asparagus down the center of each tortilla. Fold one side over, then roll up the tortilla. Place seam-side down on a plate. Repeat with the remaining tortillas, dividing among plates and spooning the remaining pepita purée over. Top with the reserved pepitas, scallions, egg quarters and any remaining asparagus.

Ratings

4 out of 5
204 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

whitney

Three cups of water makes the sauce too watery. Start with two or (in my attempt at a save) add 1/2 an avocado.

Lance

I found this visually stunning and . . . pretty good. For me, the raw garlic in the purée overwhelmed the other flavors (including some particularly punchy local cilantro). But if you freshly make your tortillas, as I did, you may find that the masa flavor still comes through. And this makes a very filling plate, though possibly a bit too much. I followed Whitney's advice to be skimpy with the water, and the amount they suggested -- 2 cups for the full recipe -- seemed just right.

Rob

Lots wrong here. Fire roast tortilla on burner to add body, reduce sauce to add thickness, add cheese to hold it all together, bake in oven for 15 min at 350. After the save, it was quite good.

Nina

I think it's because you rest the dipped tortillas on the baking sheet before you roll them up. A baking sheet leaves enough space for eight, you cannot stack them if they are already rolled in sauce. They are probably supposed to soak up the sauce a little before you roll them.

Geoff S

I agree that using less water is better. Another key item is to make sure that you salt the inside of the Papadzules prior to rolling them up. This is a great bruch item BTW...doesn't need to be eaten hot! I only wish that the tortillas soaked in more of the sauce - need to experiment with that.

Elizabeth

Thank you, Whitney, for the suggestion to reduce water to 2 cups. I also added 1/2 an overripe avocado that I needed to use anyway. It didn’t cut the flavor but did add a touch of creaminess. Sprinkled some Cotija cheese on top. Followed the suggestion to bake at 350° for 15 minutes. Otherwise followed the recipe. They were delish and we will make them again.

Sharanya

Easy but strange. Also may have broken my blender lol

Karen

I was very skeptical about this, but made it and we loved it. Complex flavors. Easy to make. I am thinking it can serve as a template for other fillings. But the eggs were really good.

Erin

I’ve been holding onto this recipe, waiting for Spring asparagus. My only changes were reducing the water in the sauce to 2 cups and sprinkling the finished dish with salt. This came together quickly and easily. It would be a great meal, when it’s too hot to bother with the oven. The sauce is herbaceous with an avocado-like freshness. I’m a wimp about spice, but the two whole jalapeños didn’t bother me at all. Thank you for sharing this new-to-me dish!

Lisa

Perhaps this is obvious to everyone but me- but make sure your pepitas are shelled. I didn’t have enough shelled pepitas, and used about 3/4 cup shelled pumpkin seeds, and it gave the sauce a bitter woody flavor and fibrous texture that was hard to chew. Probably should have just subbed peanuts.

Ben

Yep, sauce is way too watery as people have mentioned. Not only could it be improved with less liquid and adding avocado, but I also think it just needs more flavor. If I made this again I would try using chicken stock instead of water, adding some cream, including some chiles de arbol, or something along those lines. I also agree with others that it can really use some cheese. I added some smoked Gouda which I thought worked really well. Cotija would probably also be great.

kathie

Definitely cut the water in half and use an avocado. Next time I’m adding like zest. Think it would be good to grill the asparagus and get a char on it. Poached the eggs so I didn’t have to deal with peeling. Thanks to Amy Schumer’s husband - I’ve mastered a poached egg easily!

Tim

Cut way back on the water. I was nervous about it fitting in my food processor so I added water a bit at a time; not sure I added more than a cup before it came together. Our grocery order arrived with only a a handful of pepitas so I made up the volume with pine nuts, which proved an apt if expensive substitute. Will look forward to making it again.

gerry in Oregon

This was just plain weird. We all looked at each other in the middle of the meal and said, "Nah." I agree - too much water and the idea of adding avocado sounded right. It needed cheese or something to hold it together. It needed to be heated up. 2nd day: I waved it, added more sauce and it tasted OK.

LisaM

I used garlic powder in the sauce to cut the bite, and the suggested 2 cups of water. This was plenty to fill and top 10 six-inch tortillas, rolled with both ends of the asparagus sticking out

marychalich

Cut the recipe in half. The proportions worked out great. Cooked the eggs for 8 minutes, nice and soft. Passed around cotija cheese for a bit of garnish.

Shawn

My partner can't tolerate much heat. Would it work to use a poblano pepper instead of the jalapeños?

Elizabeth

Thank you, Whitney, for the suggestion to reduce water to 2 cups. I also added 1/2 an overripe avocado that I needed to use anyway. It didn’t cut the flavor but did add a touch of creaminess. Sprinkled some Cotija cheese on top. Followed the suggestion to bake at 350° for 15 minutes. Otherwise followed the recipe. They were delish and we will make them again.

Geoff S

I agree that using less water is better. Another key item is to make sure that you salt the inside of the Papadzules prior to rolling them up. This is a great bruch item BTW...doesn't need to be eaten hot! I only wish that the tortillas soaked in more of the sauce - need to experiment with that.

john

I found the sauce a bit bland, and the suggestions to use less water left the sauce a bit chunky. Maybe some cream in the sauce and even a bit of hot sauce could liven it up? But I probably won’t make it again.

Me

I'm a little confused I would have thought that kosher salt was half as intense as regular crystal diamond salt. Could the numbers come backwards? Could it be two teaspoons of kosher or one teaspoon of regular?

SusanW

The recipe has the correct amounts. Diamond Crystal is a brand of Kosher salt, but its crystals are larger than, say, Morton Kosher salt crystals. So you need you use twice as much. See this article: https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/types-of-kosher-salt/

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