Chiles en nogada – stuffed poblanos in walnut sauce
Roasted poblano peppers stuffed with minced meat cooked with peach, pear, apple, plantain, raisins and almonds, covered with a cold walnut sauce and scattered with pomegranate seeds and parsley – Mexico's September dish, in the colours of the flag.
- 1 h 30Time
- 1 h 20Hands-on
- 4Portions
- 43 gprotein per portion
- 1050kcal per portion
Ingredients for 4 portions
- 150 gWalnuts, shelled
- 250 mlMilk
- 8Poblano peppers
- 2 tbspRapeseed oil
- ½Yellow onion, finely chopped
- 2 clovesGarlic, finely chopped
- 500 gMixed mince
- 2Tomatoes, finely chopped
- 1Apple
- 1Pear
- 2Peaches
- ½Plantain
- 40 gRaisins
- 40 gAlmonds, blanched and chopped
- 3 mlCinnamon
- to tasteSalt
- to tasteBlack pepper
- 90 gQueso fresco
- 1 tbspSugar
- 1Pomegranate
- 3 tbspParsley, picked leaves
Method
- Put the walnuts in a bowl, pour over the milk and put them in the fridge.
- Leave the walnuts to soak for at least 45 minutes, or overnight, so the sauce turns out smooth.
- Meanwhile, char the poblanos directly over a gas flame or in a hot, dry frying pan, turning them until the skin is blackened all over. Put them in a plastic bag to sweat for 10 minutes.
- Peel and dice the apple, pear, peaches and plantain.
- Carefully peel the chillies without tearing them. Slit them lengthways and remove the seeds and veins, leaving the stalk on.
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan or casserole over a medium heat and soften the onion and garlic for 2 minutes. Add the mince, season with salt and pepper and fry for 8 minutes, breaking it up, until browned.
- Stir in the tomatoes, diced fruit, raisins, almonds and cinnamon.
- Cover and cook over a low heat for 15 minutes, stirring now and then, until the fruit is soft and the filling almost dry.
- Meanwhile, blend the walnuts with their soaking milk, the cheese, sugar and a pinch of salt into a smooth sauce as thick as double cream. Chill it.
- Seed the pomegranate and pick the parsley leaves.
- Fill the chillies with the warm filling and put two on each plate. Cover them with the cold walnut sauce and scatter with pomegranate seeds and parsley.
