Chiles En Nogada (Chiles in Walnut Sauce)
Submitted by kakwolee
Chiles en Nogada, Mexico’s patriotic dish: roasted poblanos stuffed with a sweet-savory pork picadillo, draped in a cool, creamy walnut sauce and scattered with ruby pomegranate seeds. The green, white, and red of the flag on one plate.
YIELD
18 servingsPREP
25 minCOOK
55 minREADY
1⅓ hrsFew dishes carry as much pride as chiles en nogada, a Mexican classic that lands the green, white, and red of the flag on a single plate. It appears on tables around September, when fresh walnuts and pomegranates are at their peak.
The filling is a study in sweet meets savory. Slow-simmered pork is shredded and cooked down with onion, garlic, cinnamon, and peppercorns, then studded with pear, peach, raisins, almonds, and candied fruit until the picadillo turns thick and barely moist.
The crown is the nogada, a cool, ivory walnut sauce. Fresh walnuts get a quick soak in boiling water so their bitter brown skins slip off, then they’re blended with bread, farmer cheese, and sour cream into a velvety pour.
Spoon it over roasted, stuffed poblanos and shower with ruby pomegranate seeds and parsley.
Chef Tips
- Soak the walnuts in boiling water for just 5 minutes. Linger longer and the skins soften and cling, making them a chore to peel.
- Peeling every walnut is tedious but is what keeps the sauce pale and free of bitterness. Don’t skip it.
- Cook the picadillo until it’s almost dry. Excess liquid makes the stuffed chiles weep and the sauce slide off.
- Serve the warm chiles under a room-temperature sauce, the traditional contrast of warm filling and cool nogada.
Variations
- Some cooks add ground beef alongside the pork for a richer picadillo.
- A splash of dry sherry or a little sugar in the nogada deepens its flavor if your walnuts are very fresh and mild.
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the picadillo: Cut the meat into large cubes.
Put them into the pan with the onion, garlic, and salt and cover with cold water.
Bring the meat to a boil, lower the flame and let it simmer until just tender--about 40 to 45 minutes.
Do not overcook. Leave the meat to cool off in the broth.
Strain the meat, reserving the broth, then shred or chop it finely and set it aside.
Let the broth get completely cold and skim off the fat.
Reserve the fat.
Melt the lard and cook the onion and garlic, without browning, until they are soft.
Add the meat and let it ook until it begins to brown.
Crush the spices roughly and add them, with the rest of the ingredients to the meat mixture.
Cook the mixture a few moments longer.
Mash the tomatoes a little and add them to the mixture in the pan.
Continue cooking the mixture over a high flame for about 10 minutes, stirring it from time to time so that it does not stick.
It should be almost dry.
Prepare the walnut sauce: Cover the nuts with boiling water and leave them to soak for 5 minutes.
(If you leave them soaking too long the skin will become too soft and will be more difficult to remove.
) Remove the papery brown skin--it should come off quite easily.
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