Recipe-o'-clock: It's the traditional Mexican chiles on the menu
Chiles en Nogada is a renowned vegetarian dish from Mexican cuisine, reflecting the colors of the Mexican flag. This dish, hailing from Puebla and first made in the early 19th century, symbolizes Mexico's history and culinary richness. It features poblano peppers, a walnut-based cream sauce, and pomegranate seeds, offering a distinctive and celebratory flavor profile. Let's get cooking.
Gather the following ingredients
For this dish, you need six poblano peppers, two cups of mixed vegetables (carrots, peas, potatoes), one cup each of black beans and diced apples, half a cup of raisins, 100 grams of almonds, two cups of overnight-soaked walnuts, one cup almond milk, a tablespoon of sugar, half a teaspoon cinnamon powder, salt to taste, and pomegranate seeds for garnish.
Prepare the poblano peppers
Roast the poblano peppers over an open flame or broiler until the skin blisters and blackens. Once blackened, encase them in a plastic bag for 10 minutes to ease skin removal. Afterward, under running water, gently peel the skin away. Finally, make a careful slit down one side of each pepper to remove the seeds without tearing the flesh.
Cook the filling
In a large skillet over medium heat, saute your mixed diced vegetables until they are tender but still crisp. Add in cooked black beans along with diced apples and raisins. Stir in chopped almonds next and cook for another five minutes. Season with salt according to taste. This mixture will serve as your filling for the poblano peppers.
Stuffing peppers & preparing nogada sauce
Carefully stuff each poblano pepper with an equal amount of vegetable-bean mixture ensuring they are well filled but not bursting at seams. For nogada sauce, blend soaked walnuts into a smooth paste using a blender, add almond milk gradually until the desired consistency is achieved, and mix in sugar and cinnamon powder. Once done, season with salt to taste.
Final assembly and serving
Place the stuffed poblano peppers onto a serving platter. Carefully pour the creamy nogada sauce over them, ensuring ample coverage for each pepper. Sprinkle a generous amount of pomegranate seeds over the sauce as a colorful garnish. Traditionally served at room temperature, chiles en nogada is an ideal dish for gatherings at any time of the year, embodying a festive spirit.