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    Home » Types of Edible Wild Greens

    Chipilín: South America's Famous Herb for Tamales

    Published: Feb 10, 2024 Modified: Dec 28, 2024 Author: Alan Bergo

    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video

    Ask someone from El Salvador or Guatemala about chipilín and you'll get an earful of nostalgia about how their abuelitas (grandmothers) use it in the kitchen. Th leaves of this wild legume are prized in Central America, especially in Salvadorean and Guatemalan cuisine. Today I'll share a little background on it, and how to use it in the kitchen in a few special traditional recipes.

    A close up picture of fresh chipilin leaves or hojas de chipilin.
    Fresh chipilin leaves. Another name for the plant is "Long Beak Rattlebox".

    What is Chipilin?

    Chipilin (Crotolaria longirostrata) is a leguminous plant in the bean or Fabaceae family native to Mexico and Central America. Something between an herb and a leafy green, you might say chipilin tastes like spinach crossed with clover or green beans. Some accounts say it has a sour flavor but I've never noticed that.

     A bunch of fresh chipilin leaves (Crotolaria longirostrata) on the stem
    The leaf shape resembles other legumes, like clover and alfalfa.

    It's easy to see why this plant could become a staple crop. Like many of the other 300 quelites (wild edible plants), its nutrient-dense leaves are perennial and easy to harvest. Cooked, the leaves are tender, but also hold their shape after hours of cooking.

    The mild, beany flavor is unique, yet subtle-everything you could ever want in an edible plant.

    A spoonful of caldo de chipilin con pollo or chicken soup with chipilin leaves.
    Sopa de chipilin is essentially chicken soup with the leaves added.

    The shoots or leaves are always cooked. They're a well-known ingredient in tamales, pupusas, omelets and soups. An unusual recipe is a licuado, or a smoothie. I like it made with hot chicken stock thickened with a little potato and a dash of lime.

    Licuado de chipilin or chipilin smoothie.
    To make a refreshing licuado, blend 1 oz chipilin leaves with 8 oz hot chicken stock, 1 oz cooked potato and lime juice to taste.

    Fresh and frozen chipilin leaves can be purchased at Asian and Mexican grocers if you're lucky. At around $6-8 for 4 oz frozen, it's relatively expensive. Occasionally I see the leaves sold in jars/canned.

    Considered a perennial vegetable in it's native habitat, It's listed as an noxious weed in the Continental United States, and banned in Australia and Hawaii.

    The invasive status is probably compounded by the fact that besides being prolific seeders, it, and other relatives in the genus Crotolaria (also known as rattlepods) are poisonous to cattle. As with other legumes like alfalfa, it's also a nitrogen fixer and good for soil fertility.

    Chipilin leaves (Crotolaria longirostrata) on a wood background.

    It's been called one of the most important edible leaves in the world, and a number of different species in the genus are consumed as a food. Only the leaves, shoots and flowers are eaten and the roots and seeds are said to be toxic. Besides C. longostrata, there's also C. tetragona consumed in Northeast India, and C. brevidens eaten in East Africa.

    Pupusas de Chipilin

    I was introduced to the plant when my co-worker's girlfriend from El Salvador would bring pupusas de chipilin to work for his lunch. The little cheese-stuffed tortillas were so popular they were like a form of currency. I remember seeing three pupusas traded for a duck breast one day.

    Pupusas de chipilin on a plate with fresh chipilin leaves in the background.
    Pupusas de chipilin: fried tortillas stuffed with cheese.

    They're easy to make, and great for cooking with children and groups of people. Here's how to make them.

    A hand holding a ball of masa with a pocket in the center to make pupusas de chipilin
    Take a ball of masa and make a pocket in the center.
    Adding shredded cheese to a pupusa de chipilin.
    Put a pinch of cheese in the center.
    Forming a pupusa using hands.
    Flatten the masa into a patty.
    A baking sheet full of pupusas de chipilin.
    Store the pupusas on a baking sheet.
    Cooking pupusas de chipilin on a comal.
    Cook the pupusas on a comal or cast iron skillet.

    A Simple Chipilin Tamale Recipe

    Tamales are very traditional, but you can add the leaves to just about anything made with masa harina. The leaves add a subtle flavor and there's a number of regional variations to try.

    A chipilin tamal wrapped in a corn husk.
    Chipilin tamales can be made with corn husks or banana leaves.

    A special Guatemalan version called chuchitos de chipillin are stuffed with chicken or pork and served with a recado, or red sauce.

    Two different Guatemalan style chuchitos de chipilin.
    Guatemalan chuchitos are similar to tamales. They may be wrapped differently and the masa dough may be more firm.

    In the recipe below I stuff them with queso chihuahua, but the masa can simply be cooked as small chipilin tamales, or tamalitos. Here's how to make them.

    Removing the leaves from the chipilin plant in a bowl.
    Remove the leaves from the plant.

    First you remove the leaves from the plant. They strip off the branch just like thyme. After that they can be frozen raw or cooked.

    Removing hojas de chipilin from the stem.
    Watch for small stems as you're picking the leaves.
    Mixing masa harina with lard or butter, hot chicken stock and the chipilin leaves.
    Mix masa with lard or butter, hot chicken stock and the chipilin leaves.
    Wrapping a bowl of chipilin masa para tamales in cling film.
    Allow the masa to hydrate for 30 minutes.
    A spoonful of chipilin masa on a banana leaf.
    Put a spoonful of masa on a banana leaf.
    Adding a piece of cheese to a spoonful of masa on a banana leaf.
    Add a small rectangle of cheese.
    Rolling up tamales de chipilin in hojas de platano.
    Roll up the tamal into a package.
    Many chipilin tamales steaming in a pot wrapped in aluminum foil.
    Steam the tamales for 2 hours.
    Steaming corn husk chipilin tamales in a pot with a steamer basket.
    Small corn husk tamales can be steamed with a steamer basket.
    Serving a chipilin tamal with salsa macha.
    Serve the tamales with your favorite salsa.

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    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    5 from 4 votes

    Tamales de Chipilín

    Traditional tamales made with chipilin leaves, stuffed with cheese.
    Prep Time30 minutes mins
    Cook Time2 hours hrs
    Total Time2 hours hrs 15 minutes mins
    Course: Appetizer, Main Course
    Cuisine: Guatemalan, Mexican, Salvadorean
    Servings: 15 servings
    Calories: 198kcal
    Author: Alan Bergo
    Cost: 10

    Equipment

    • 1 Large pot for steaming
    • 12 5 inch by 10 inch pieces of banana leaf or corn husks. ask for "hojas de platano" at your local market
    • Aluminum foil as needed, optional

    Ingredients

    • 3 cups Masa harina
    • 3.5 cups Meat or chicken stock, hot use water in a pinch
    • 1.5 teaspoons Kosher salt
    • 8 oz Queso Oaxaca or Chihuahua or another melting cheese like pepperjack or mozzarella.
    • 4 oz Pork lard or unsalted butter (½ cup) melted
    • 3 oz Chipilin leaves (roughly 3 cups) fresh or frozen

    Instructions

    • Combine the masa, lard or butter, salt, chicken stock and chipilin leaves in a bowl. Cover the bowl with cling film and rest for 20 minutes.
    • Lay out a piece of banana leaf on a square of aluminum foil.
    • Put down a 2.5 oz spoonful of masa, making a dent in the center.
    • Put a .5 oz rectangle of cheese in the center, then roll up the tamal in the leaf with the aluminum foil. Try to make sure the masa forms a seal around the cheese.
    • Put the tamales in a steamer and cook for 2 hours, then allow to cool.

    Video

    Notes

    To make pupusas, use equal parts masa and chicken stock or water and form pupusas with 2 oz balls of masa. 

    Nutrition

    Serving: 2Tamales | Calories: 198kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 18mg | Sodium: 352mg | Potassium: 111mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 0.4g | Vitamin A: 702IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 122mg | Iron: 2mg

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Rey

      May 11, 2024 at 9:45 pm

      5 stars
      Recipes and info look good but please correct that El Salvador and Guatemala is in Central America, very different from South America.

      Reply
    2. Amy

      February 10, 2024 at 10:45 am

      5 stars
      Great! While I have no hope of getting chipilin here on my little WestCoast Island, I’ve been looking for masa/tamale recipes and going to do this with nettles instead. Also might try seaweed wrap (but will do corn husk first)

      Reply
      • Alan Bergo

        February 10, 2024 at 10:49 am

        Thanks Amy. One of the first things I thought of was how many different wild greens I could add to masa just like chipilin. Lambsquarters obviosuly, but I totally forgot about ortigas/nettles. I saw one version on a YT channel where they pureed the plants in the liquid for the dough. I know it would come out looking swampy but I might have to try it.

        Reply
        • Amy

          February 15, 2024 at 2:11 pm

          Interesting idea (but yeah would t look pretty). I’m going to do a nettle goat cheese filling in the pupas, like a ravioli filling. Cultural fusion! (Or confusion??)

          Reply
          • Alan Bergo

            February 16, 2024 at 11:41 am

            Oh no it sounds great. Hank Shaw was just telling me about the use of goat cheese in Northern Mexico. Ortigas / nettles are also widely used so I don't think that's strange at all. Sounds really good.

            Reply
    3. Noah

      February 10, 2024 at 10:17 am

      5 stars
      Hi!

      Out of curiosity---what do you think the percentage of plants we forage on a regular basis are considered 'weeds' is? I think up to 80%!

      Reply
      • Alan Bergo

        February 10, 2024 at 10:45 am

        Hey Noah, I'd assume something comparable to that. It's tricky to nail down a specific percentage, but the vast majority of plants I pick most people would call weeds. Part of the difficulty of categorization is cultural, the other part is the question "is it native or not". Either way, it's a lot.

        Reply
        • Noah

          February 14, 2024 at 8:57 am

          Haha. Thanks!

          Reply
          • Alan Bergo

            February 16, 2024 at 11:41 am

            You bet.

            Reply
    5 from 4 votes (1 rating without comment)

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