Chile en Nogada Puerto Vallarta, One of the most festive colorful looking of Mexican dishes is the Chile en Nogada. Covered in a creamy white sauce with the red seeds of a Pomegranite and green parsley it makes represents the Mexican Flag to some and probably Christmas to most of us from north of the Rio Grande.
As Pomegranates were very seasonal there was a magic time of year when you could get Chile en Nogada and stores and restaurants would advertise this special time. A chile en Nogada is (see below recipe from The Mija Chronicles a charming website about Mexican food among all things Mexican) Note there is a class on how to make the chiles on the website with comments and photos
Chiles en Nogada
Makes enough for 12 chiles
A few notes here: You’ll notice I used chopped meat, not ground beef or pork — I like the flavor better when the meat is chopped, plus it’s supposedly more accurate to the original recipe. I also did not use acitrón, the candied biznaga catcus that is typically used in chiles en nogada, because it is overharvested.
On the cooking time for the picadillo, I’ve heard about some folks who cook it for six or eight hours, making it a slow-roasted braise type of thing. I didn’t do that here, but I’d like to try it someday. In both of the classes I took, the picadillo cooked for about 30 minutes.
Lastly, I know I’m a snob about the capeado, but you don’t have to do that step if you don’t want to. To prepare the chiles without the capeado, I would warm them slightly in the oven and then top them directly with the nogada sauce. (Be warned that the sauce will not pool in a pretty pile on top, but fall off the sides.) The dish is traditionally served lukewarm or room temperature.
For the picadillo (the filling):
1 to 2 tablespoons lard
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
12 oz/350g pork loin, chopped
12 oz/350g beef rump roast, chopped
1 lb./500g tomatoes, charred on a comal, liquified in a blender and strained
1/2 cup raisins
8 oz./233g peaches (about 6 small Mexican peaches), peeled, cored and chopped
9 oz./250g apples (about 4 small), peeled, cored and chopped
8 oz./240g “lechera” style Mexican pears, or any other pears you want, peeled, cored and chopped
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup pine nuts
3 rings candied pineapple, chopped (this amounts to scant 3/4 cup)
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon Mexican oregano (I used oregano I bought in Oaxaca City)
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground clove
12 chiles poblanos
3/4 to 1 cup flour
Makes enough to fill 12 chiles, with extra relleno left over
For the capeado (egg batter) and the frying:
8 eggs, separated
pinch of salt
1 bottle vegetable oil or other cooking oil that doesn’t burn when heated to high heat
For the nogada (walnut sauce):
4 cups whole peeled walnuts, soaked in water or frozen to keep from turning brown
3.5oz/100g goat cheese
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
2 tablespoon sherry
2 tablespoons sugar
Makes scant 1 liter
For the garnish:
1/2 cup whole or chopped parsley leaves
1 cup pomegranate seeds
Directions
1. To prepare the picadillo: Melt the lard in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and stir to coat in the lard. Cook until translucent, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and stir constantly so it doesn’t burn, cooking until aromatic, about 30 seconds to a minute. Add the chopped meat and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the meat changes color and has mostly cooked. Then pour in the tomato sauce and bring to a boil. Add raisins, fruit, spices, nuts, dried pineapple and spices, and a little salt to taste. Bring to another boil, then simmer for at least 30 minutes on low, keeping the pot covered. Taste for more salt. The picadillo can be prepared up to two days before and stored in the refrigerator, or even longer and frozen. I made mine the day before as to leave more time for stuffing/seeding/peeling chiles on the day of our meal.
Keep the picadillo warm while you’re finishing with the rest of the steps.
2. To char and seed the chiles: Char the poblano peppers over an open flame, a dry skillet or a comal. Wrap chiles in dish towels for about 20 minutes until the skin softens and is easier to peel. Working one chile at a time, remove the skin with the pads of your thumbs or a paper towel. Try not to scrape the skin off with your fingernails — not only does the skin gets under your nails, where it’s difficult to remove, but it mutes some of that yummy charred flavor. Also, do not rinse the chiles under water for the same reason! The chiles don’t need to be perfect. A few pieces of skin left over is okay.
After you skin the peppers, cut an incision in the chile (the thinnest/weakest part of the chile is usually best) from tip to end, leaving about an inch of space on either side so the filling doesn’t fall out. Then carefully remove the seeds, either using gloved hands or a small spoon. Try very hard not to scrape, or else you could end up dislodging a vein, and the chile will fall apart. Set all charred, peeled, and seeded chiles aside.
How to char chiles poblanos over an open flame
3. To stuff the chiles: Fill each chile with picadillo until they’re plump, but not impossible to close. The idea is that your filling will stay inside and NOT fall out while the chile is cooking. After filling all the chiles, dust them each in flour. Let them sit for a minute while you prepare the capeado.
3. For the capeado: If the beaten whites sit around for too long, they’ll fall, which destroys the texture of the capeado. So I’d start heating the oil to fry your chiles while you beat the whites. (This is especially helpful if you have an electric stove that takes forever to heat anything up, like I do.) I used a 10-inch skillet and about 1/2 cup of oil.
While the oil warms, beat the whites until they’re thick and fluffy and they stay in place even after you turn the bowl upside-down. Then, one by one, stir in the yolks, mixing just until the yolk is completely integrated. Hopefully by this time the oil is hot hot hot, so when you drop in a teensy piece of egg batter, it sizzles.
4. To fry the chiles: OJO: The chiles fry VERY quickly and they’ll burn if you don’t have a constant eye on them. So this is not a good time to go have a glass of wine, wash dishes, fiddle with the radio, etc.
Prepare a baking sheet lined with several layers of paper towels, and have a large cooking spoon and two spatulas at the ready. Hold one flour-dusted chile by its stem and upper edge and carefully dunk it into your bowl of egg batter. (Sometimes a scooping motion works best.) Then quickly place the chile in the hot pan of oil. It should bubble and sizzle immediately. Slather on a little extra egg batter on top so you no longer see any of the chile’s green skin.
Once the chile is completely swaddled in egg batter, use a spoon to bathe the chile in extra oil from the pan, until the chile turns a light golden-brown. This should take perhaps 10 seconds. Then use two spatulas — one for each side of the chile — to carefully turn the chile over, wrapping its eggy coat around itself, so it cooks on the other side. Cook for about 10 to 20 seconds more on the other side and remove to the paper-towel lined tray. Repeat with other chiles, adding more oil as needed. Let chiles rest while you prepare the sauce.
5. To prepare the nogada sauce: I did this in batches. Place 2 cups of walnuts in the blender jar with half the goat cheese, 1/4 cup milk and 1 tablespoon sugar. Blend on high, stopping a few times to stir and dislodge the walnut bits from the blender blades. Add one more tablespoon of milk or a little more if necessary. (You don’t want the sauce too watery or thin.) You could also add more sugar if you want the sauce sweeter — I like mine on the savory side. Finally, add 1 tablespoon of sherry and blend just a little more to combine. Pour into a receptacle and repeat with the other two cups of walnuts, and the rest of the goat cheese, sugar and sherry.
6. To serve: Place a chile on a plate. Ladle over the nogada sauce, until the chile is completely obscured. Sprinkle with parsley and pomegranate seeds. Serve at room temperature.
The Luxury Vacation villa experience, is completely different then a resort or hotel experience. When you rent a private villa, you do not stand in line to check in, instead a charming staff meet you at the door with cold scented towels and a bottle of cold water. They carry your luggage and serve fresh margaritas, with guacamole, salsa and chips as a welcome snack from the owner. When you stay In a vacation rental villa it is a more personal intimate experience and a more authentic experience where the staff greet you by name each morning and know what you like in your coffee, and are happy to who you how to make Chilre Relleno, so your experience is more what it would be like to live in Puerto Vallarta. Renting vacation villas is becoming more popular all over the world. In Puerto Vallarta we feel the experience is made unique by the staff, who personalize the service to your preferences. As the chef for a cooking lesson, learn the names of the flowers in the garden from the charming houseman.
If you have never rented a private vacation villa before you will never want to stay in a hotel again. A luxury villa with staff offers all the service of a hotel with privacy, if you want music there is music, if you want to eat breakfast in your pajamas it is your house. For more information about renting a luxury villa or private home or assistance planning your vacation or next getaway or Mexican holiday please contact us at Beston Properties , we offer the finest Luxury Villa Vacation Rental Accommodations in the Puerto Vallarta and Punta Mita area. We are one of the few luxury villa rental and vacation accomodations agencies actually located in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. We offer personal concierge service and or selection of private rental homes and Condos offer a full range of services and luxury amenities from a full staff including chef and a concierge to organize any tours, spa services in the home or Car Rental. We have offices located in Puerto Vallarta and have all the local information from Vallarta weather and maps. All of their agents are personally familiar with each of the accommodations, amenities and staff to help you find the best rental property in Puerto Vallarta. Our concierge services will be happy to give you information on the best restaurants for dining out in Puerto Vallarta we can make reservations and give you directions. We have all the most current information to guide you for your holiday in Puerto Vallarta from our daily weather report to maps and directions… The concierge from Beston Properties is happy to arrange activities from Golfing, to zip lines and boat cruises with any tour company including Vallarta Adventures, one of the most popular companies in Banderas Bay. We represent the best quality of homes for rent by owners who care about your comfort and hope you return for many years of unforgettable Mexican holidays. For more information check out our luxury accommodations.
Many travelers have never considered a private home for vacation accomodations, but the popularity is increasing and experts say it is at 10% of the potential for vacation rentals and growing fast. If you have never considered the advantages for the experience, quality of accomodations and value you should consider the option. Puerto Vallarta has become a very popular destination in Mexico and is attracting more American investors from Starbucks Coffee opening a 3RD location in the historic Downtown, 5h in the area, to Bill Gates investing 320 million US dollars in the Four Seasons Resort Punta Mita, just a short drive from Puerto Vallarta. Check out the website VisitPuertoVallarta to seem some amazing photos of this magical vacation destination
Chile en Nogada Puerto Vallarta
