Chiles en Nogada

Chiles en nogada, invented by nuns in Puebla, is a dish which consists of a poblano pepper stuffed with a mixture of pulled pork, fruit, almonds, and spices. This is then breaded and fried, and topped with nogada, a white sauce of cream, walnuts, almonds, and sugar. This is then garnished with pomegranate and cilantro, giving it the appearance of the Mexican flag (red, green, and white). It is considered by many to be the height of Poblano cuisine, and as I have discovered over the past two days (two whole DAYS!) it is also the height of complicated food. Thanksgiving move over, cuz there's a new boss in town.



Chiles en nogada: not a photo taken by me, because I was too busy stuffing my very happy face to deal with photography!


The saga began yesterday at noon with the preparation of the peppers themselves (which must be charred, the skin removed, and the innards scraped out) as well as the preparation of the filling. At least five different types of fruit must be diced and pre-cooked, pork must be slow-cooked and shredded, almonds must be blanched, skinned, and sliced, and countless other ingredients must be acquired and have stuff done to them. With five women in the kitchen for a straight 9 hours, we got the filling made and the peppers skinned. 25 peppers, that is, and a pan of filling big enough that I could LITERALLY curl up inside it if I wanted to.

This morning the peppers were stuffed, dredged in flour, and fried in a sort of indescribable meringue-type omelet thing which yields perfectly encased, golden peppers. Then the nogada: at least three blender-loads full of nuts, cream, spices, sugar, and cheese? were whirred together. Pomegranate kernels were carefully harvested, cilantro was washed and chopped (please bear in mind that washing a Mexican vegetable involves several changes of water, dishsoap, and disinfectant), and the good china was washed and laid out.

By this time it was 3 o'clock and the guests were due to arrive at any moment. After epic kitchen scrubbing we all dispersed to bathe and dress. I wore makeup and earrings; they were impressed. I realized that without a good dose of eyeliner I will never truly be Poblana.

(Side note: apparently no self-respecting Poblana woman would leave the house without makeup, hair-do, and very stylish outfit. Makeup is not generally subtle.)

So about 15 people show up, each with some other edible item (cakes the size of a small child) and we feast!!! Never had I imagined that any church potluck which I've ever attended could be so thoroughly out-done.

I recognize that the whole chiles en nogada thing sounds kinda strange, but it may be one of the better things I've eaten. I'm still not sure why we had this party, and truly was not aware until yesterday that it was going to occur, but I am definitely certain that it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. As I write it is nearly 11:00 PM, and the party just ended.