Chiles en Nogada is a classic Mexican dish. This delicious recipe has become increasingly popular for its delicious taste and its importance in Mexican gastronomy.

There are two versions of the birth of the recipe:

The popular ones: It is said that the dish was created by the nuns of the convent of Santa Maria in the city of Puebla, to celebrate the birthday of emperor Agustin de Iturbide. It is said that taking by advantage of the seasonal products such as walnuts and pomegranate, they decorated the chili to make it look like the flag of the country.

The romantic one: this version was described by the writer Artemio de Valle-Arizpe, which tells that in the Trigarante Army, the Army of the Three Guarantees, there were 3 soldiers whose girlfriends resided in Puebla. Excited by the newfound independence of Mexico, as well as the return of their partners, they created the dish to celebrate by choosing each one of the ingredients that represented the color of the army.

However, the true history of the creation of the Chile en Nogada dates back to the viceroyalty of New Spain, to the first Andalusian settlers of the region, who came with a great pastry heritage from the Arabs and whose best cooks were nuns. During these celebrations more than 14 dishes were prepared and the nuns were always inventing new ones so that the patron of the party could boast, among them, Chile en Nogada was deemed a dessert.

Its popularity is due to the fact that the nuns of the convent of Santa Maria in Puebla heard of Iturbide's triumphant return to Puebla after the proclamation of the plan of Iguala, they prepared it and decorated it with a sauce consisting of walnuts, pomegranate and parsley, to resemble the flag of that time, which was the Flag of the Three Guarantees.

The dessert became popular however with time and the country's economy, the dish changed from a dessert to a main dish by adding meat to the fruit filling it originally had.

Recipe

Utensils:

Comalli Volcanic Stone 

Tlatoani Molcajete

Ingredients:

• 2 poblano peppers
• 1lb ground beef
• ½ Onion
• 1 Yellow peach
• 1 Apple
• Raisins
• 1 tomato
• Blanched almonds 
• Cream cheese
• Milk
• Walnut
• Pomegranate
• Parsley
• Salt
• Pepper
• Ground cloves
• Thyme
• Ground cinnamon
• Oregano
• Cumin
• Sugar

Recipe:

 Prepare the chiles:

1. Roast poblano peppers
2. Put them inside a bag  and leave them to sweat.
3. Once ready, clean the peppers, removing the skin and seeds.

Ground beef:

1. Place the diced onion in a frying pan with a little oil until transparent.
2. Add the ground beef
3. When the meat is cooked, add tomato, salt and pepper.
4. Then we chop the apple, almond and peach and add them to the pan.
5. Add the raisins and cook until the fruits are soft.
6. Add the spices, salt, ground cloves, oregano, ground cinnamon, etc.

Nogada:

1. Beat the cream cheese with the milk, walnuts, a spoonful of sugar, salt and almonds to taste (it should not be too sweet or too nutty).

Serve:

1. Fill the poblano peppers with the ground beef
2. Add the nogada sauce on top
3. Garnish with pomegranate seeds and parsley.