Chiles en Nogada

(stuffed chiles with walnut sauce)

This is a world class dish and I think it rates a place right up there with any of the classic dishes from anywhere in the world. Here's how I describe it on the menu at Felix'.......

" I think that this dish ranks with any of the great dishes of the world. It is both beautiful to look at and to taste. A true classic, this is an absolutely wonderful dish from the city of Puebla where it is traditionally served on St. Augustine's day (August 28). It is also a popular dish throughout the country on September 15, Independence day -- since the colors of the dish are those of the Mexican flag, red, white and green. Poblano chiles stuffed with minced pork, raisins, dried fruit, tomato, onion, herbs and spices. It is served with a delicious white walnut sauce and usually garnished with fresh pomegranate seeds. This is a complicated dish to make with many layers of flavor and is rarely found in restaurants."

When you read the recipe it will sound a bit daunting..... don't be afraid. It's really quite simple to make.... uh, well after the first time anyway. I avoided making this dish for a long time because all the recipes were evidently written by some jerk celebrity chef or another and they made it sound so damn complicated I just didn't want to get involved. They called for processors and ricers and dicers and 3 beam balance gram scales and organically grown cinnamon flown in from Sumatra and mortars and pestles..... and - as usual - it was all bullshit! Hell I haven't even owned a triple beam balance gram scale since the 60's and I wasn't even a cook then. The measurements I give are not exact and that's intentional. It doesn't matter. We're not talkin' rocket science or neuro-surgery here, we're talkin' cooking. It calls for Poblano chiles but it is definitely not a spicy hot dish since Poblanos are mild to begin with and we will be removing the seeds and veins. This recipe should serve 4 people - 2 chiles apiece.

PARTS LIST

8 Poblano Chiles
Roasted and peeled with the stems left on. If you don't know how to roast chile.... It's easy. Hold the chile by the stem over an open flame, until it is black. The skin will sizzle and pop, and when you are done burning it, it will look like a mess. Wrap the burnt chile in a dry cloth to cool. Once it is cool, the skin will come off on your fingers. You might want to wash them under cool water to remove bits of black stuff. You want to slit the chiles from the top to the tip and remove the seeds and veins.

a little Butter
or lard or rendered fat from the pork

2 lbs Cooked Pork
I generally use shoulder but you can use most anything from left over pork chops to loin - as a matter of fact the cheapest cuts are probably the most flavorful. I simmer the pork for at least an hour - it should be falling apart.

1 small onion
chopped pretty fine

6 cloves of garlic
or 3 or 9... Hey, you know how much garlic you like - chopped fine

10 (or so) whole cloves
Don't use ground cloves - it's just not the same. Smash the cloves with the side of a knife or the bowl of a spoon or something. You might want to toss the pointy ends of the cloves because they will never soften up and will be like little pieces of toothpicks in your chiles.

8(or so) whole pepper corns
coarsely crushed

1/2 tsp cinnamon

raisins
You don't want to get a raisin in every bite - so go easy - maybe about 40 should do it.

slivered almonds
a couple of tablespoons should do

assorted dried fruit
Don't use candied fruit - too sweet. Chop the fruit into raisin sized pieces. I use whatever is available when I'm in the market place. Apricots, peaches, apples, pineapple, banana whatever you can find - mix it up. You'll want about 4 heaping tablespoons.

tomatoes
The quality of tomatoes in the market these days is so lousy that for the first time in my life I'm recommending canned tomatoes. Put about six through the blender and save the liquid from the can - we're gonna need it later.

pomegranate seeds
If you can't find fresh pomegranates - don't even bother making this dish. They are really important. Oh, the dish will taste all right but it just won't be the same.

OKAY, LET'S GO!

The secret to this one is preparation - like most everything else in the world. If you have all your ingredients ready at hand it gets real simple.

the filling

Chop the cooked pork really, really fine. Start it in a frying pan with the butter (or lard) over medium heat. Add the chopped onions and brown the whole mixture stirring occasionally. Add the blended tomatoes and every thing else except the pomegranate seeds. (The reason I like using crushed black pepper and crushed cloves instead of the finely ground powder is twofold. One - when you crush them yourself the flavor is much stronger. The powdered loses its taste rapidly on the shelf - in your home or in the store. The second reason is that if you use the powdered every bite tastes of clove and with the crushed you get a bite of clove every once in a while. And you get a bite of raisin - once in a while and a bite of almond and a bite of black pepper and a bite of dried peach or apple or pineapple. Every bite of this dish you should get a new taste. My son describes it as "Tasting like Christmas" every bite is like opening a new present. Anyway add some of the liquid from the tomatoes and simmer it for a half hour or so to let the raisins and dried fruit plump up and for the cloves and peppercorns to soften. Let it cool. As a matter of fact everything so far can be done way in advance - even the day before.

THE SAUCE

The sauce is a thick rich white sauce with a walnut base. In Spanish walnuts are 'nogales' - hence the name 'Chiles en Nogada'. The sauce is served at a warm room temperature. Don't try to heat the sauce - it will thin way out and (since there's a lot of sour cream in it) may even separate.

PARTS LIST

20 - 25 walnuts
broken up in pretty small pieces - your gonna soak them in milk so if they're in big chunks it will take too much milk to cover them. milk or cream - if you want it even richer than itÕs gonna be - enough to cover the walnuts

white bread 1 or 2 slices
crusts removed

1/4 lb cream cheese

1-1/2 cups sour cream

salt to taste

cinnamon to taste
depending on how stale the cinnamon is somewhere around a 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon.

Okay, let's make the recipe

All the recipes I found told me to soak the walnuts in the milk for at least 24 hours. I did - for a while - but I don't any more. I can't taste any difference at all. I just throw the walnuts and milk into the blender and start it up. Add the white bread and the sour cream and keep blending... it should be pretty runny. Start throwing in little pieces of cream cheese with the blender going on a low speed, until the sauce has thickened up to the consistency of barely pourable mayonnaise. Toss in about 1/2 the cinnamon and taste it. It should taste of cinnamon, but just barely, if it needs more - throw it in... If you want to add salt now is the time to do it. The sauce is done and you're almost a gourmet Mexican chef.

putting it all together

The dish is all done - we just have to assemble it and heat it up. At the restaurant we put it together hot. Hot chiles and hot filling and we burn our fingers and swear a lot. You don't have to do this. You can use the filling and chiles direct from the fridge. Just take a spoon and put the mixture into the chiles - fill them pretty good and pat them and caress them until they look real pretty. Heat them up in a lidded pan with a little water or hell, you could even do them in a microwave. Arrange two chiles on a plate and put some sauce over them. I like to put the sauce over the middle of the chiles leaving a little bit of the stem end and the pointy end showing. If you completely cover the chiles it will still taste great but it will look like a pile of mashed potatoes in that yucky country gravy your mom use to make out of canned cream of mushroom soup - so let the beautiful green chiles show. Sprinkle some pomegranate seeds over the top..... brother, or sister - as the case may be - you have just made an incredible dish.