Chile en Nogada – Pork Stuffed Poblano Chile with Walnut Sauce

Cycling down the Mal towards Buckingham Palace this afternoon, after a delightful lunch with Mark Selby in his acclaimed restaurant Wahaca I was greeted by an avenue of Mexican flags and Union Jacks hung along the road side to commemorate the arrival of Mexican President Felipe Calderon. 

Britain's finest pomp and pageantry will be on display to welcome the Mexican President for a four-day state visit to the UK. The Latin American leader is arriving in London to take his place at the G20 summit later this week as well as holding separate talks with Prime Minister Gordon Brown and opposition leaders, no doubt including a quiet chat about how to stem the demand for cocaine in our capital, that is inadvertently causing thousands of deaths in a brutal turf war in Mexico.

The first state visit to the UK by a Mexican leader for almost 25 years, President Calderon and his wife Margarita Zavala will receive a ceremonial welcome on Horse Guards Parade in Whitehall where the Queen, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, will formally greet the Mexican couple before sitting down to a right royal feast.

I have no idea what is on the menu this evening but perhaps it might be Chile En Nogada. I doubt there are many countries that can boast a dish inspired by their national flag, but the proud, food- loving people of Mexico have Chile en Nogada. A platter incorporating the red, green and white of their flag that was created by the hard working nuns of Puebla to commemorate the victory of the Mexican Militia over the French Army at The Battle of Puebla in 1862, it is the unofficial national dish of Mexico.

I only hope there are no Union Jack inspired dished at Buckingham Palace tonight, although on second thoughts an Eton mess with blue berries does sound rather patriotic and tasty. Now there is a thought…

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 pounds ground pork
  • 6 green chile's
  • 1/4 cup milk 
  • 1 small onion, diced 
  • 200 goats cheese 
  • 1/4 cup raisins 
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil 
  • 1 large apple chopped 
  • 1/4 cup almonds, ground
  • 1/3 teaspoon cinnamon 
  • Pinch of fresh ground nutmeg 
  • 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground cumin 
  • 1 pomegranate
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced 
  • 3/4 cup sour cream
  • 1 cup fresh cut parsley
  • 1/3 teaspoon granulated sugar 
  • 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1. First thing thing you need to do is roast the chili peppers over an open gas ring until they blacken. Leave to cool and then carefully peel off the skin so the batter will stick to the outer pepper.

2. In a large pan heat up the oil over medium high heat, add the pork and brown all the way through. Once pork is done add the minced garlic, chopped onions, sliced apple, and spices, plus a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes. 

3. Once your mixture is cooked stuff your roasted peppers with it and add a hunk of cheese. 

4. Now separate the egg yolks and whites.  Beat the whites with a pinch of salt until you get stiff peaks. Now whisk in yolks. Dredge the peppers thru the egg mixture and pan fry until they are golden brown.  

5. In a food processor add the milk, cream, sugar and walnuts. Heat until simmering and then pour  over the freshly roasted peppers. Top with Pomegranate seeds and chopped parsley.

Felipe-Calderon

This entry was posted on Monday, March 30th, 2009 at 17:31 and is filed under Mexican Recipes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed or trackback from your own site. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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