UCI Health, UC Irvine, Northgate González Market and Latino Health Access launch healthy recipes series

First recipe, pipián mole verde, celebrates one of Mexico’s oldest culinary traditions

Orange, Calif. — The UCI Health and UC Irvine diabetes reduction partnership focused on reducing type 2 diabetes in the Latino/a communities is collaborating with Northgate González Market and Latino Health Access to launch a series of healthy recipes inspired by traditional foods and flavors.

Northgate González Market, a family-owned Mexican supermarket, and Latino Health Access, which partners with communities to bring health, equity, and sustainable change through education and services, have supported the health of the Orange County Latino community for decades. Because of this, UCI Health and UC Irvine invited both organizations to collaborate on recipes.

Because diabetes affects the Latino/a community at younger ages and often leads to more severe complications, the diabetes reduction partnership is designed to remove barriers to Latino/a access to research, prevention and care to improve outcomes.

“An important aspect of the program is making sure that our community members understand that they can still enjoy their favorite foods,” said John Billimek, Ph.D., associate professor and vice chair for academic affairs with the UC Irvine Department of Family Medicine and co-director of the UC Irvine Program in Medical Education for the Latino Community (PRIME-LC) Residency Track.

“Our goal is to demonstrate that there are easy ways to adjust recipes, so they are delicious but are also healthy, especially during the upcoming holiday season.”

Evelyn González, MS, RDN, registered dietitian nutritionist and director of well-being at Northgate Market, has developed a series of healthy recipes inspired by Latino/a culinary traditions.

The first is for pipián mole verde, a delicious, versatile make-ahead sauce you can enjoy immediately or freeze and use for weeks. The sauce, one of Mexico’s oldest recipes, calls for toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds) and sesame seeds, blended with tomatillos, green chiles and the herbs like epazote and parsley. It doesn’t have cream or flour – instead, the ground pumpkin seeds thicken it.

The result is rich and nutty in flavor, thanks to the blend of seeds, vegetables, and fresh herbs. And it's flexible enough to go over turkey, chicken, fish, tofu, or any other protein of choice.

The next recipe will be released in early 2027.

Pipián mole verde

Active time: about 20 minutes. Total time: about 45 minutes. Makes about seven cups of sauce, enough for two dinners for a family of four (one tonight, one for the refrigerator or freezer). Protein not included in the recipe.

Ingredients

For the seeds

• 1 1/2 cups pepitas, plus more for garnish
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds, plus more for garnish

For the green sauce

• 2 tablespoons oil for cooking the sauce (olive, avocado, or your choice)
• 11 tomatillos, husked
• 15 tomatillos milperos, husked
• 4 serrano chiles
• 1 jalapeño
• 1 poblano chile
• 1/2 onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 3 cups chicken, turkey, or vegetable stock (store-bought is fine)
• 1 cup epazote
• 1 cup parsley
• 1 cup cilantro
• 4 romaine lettuce leaves
• Salt to taste

Instructions

1. Toast the seeds. In the medium pot you’ll use for sauce, toast the pepitas over medium-low heat for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring often. Add the sesame seeds and toast together for 2 to 3 minutes more, stirring constantly, until the pepitas are lightly browned and the sesame seeds are golden. They burn quickly, so don't walk away. Transfer the mixture to a blender.

2. Blend it all. Add the raw tomatillos, tomatillos milperos, chiles, onion, garlic, epazote, parsley, cilantro, lettuce and stock to the blender with the seeds. Blend until smooth. Taste for spice level.

3. Cook the sauce. Heat the oil in the same pot over medium heat. Carefully pour in the sauce, then simmer over medium-low for about 30 minutes, stirring often so it doesn't stick, until it darkens to olive green and no longer tastes raw. If it gets too thick, add a splash of stock. Taste for salt.

4. Add your protein or store in refrigerator or freeze. Cook your protein in the sauce or cool the sauce and freeze it in portions.