1 January 2025

Chiles en nogada (in walnut sauce)

Chiles en nogada is a classic Mexican dish featuring poblano peppers stuffed with a savory-sweet meat filling, topped with a rich walnut-cream sauce.

Prep

Cook

Easy

Serves

Ingredients

No of servings

For the nogada (walnut sauce)

water, plus more as needed475 ml

120 g shelled walnut halves

shelled walnut halves120 g

goat cheese115 g

cheese85 g

milk180 ml

sour cream120 ml

ground cinnamon1/4 tsp

granulated sugar1/8 tsp

For the stuffed peppers

olive oil30 ml

medium white onion, diced1/4

garlic clove, minced1

ground beef225 g

ground pork225 g

tomato sauce60 ml

chopped dried pineapple chunks60 ml

1 tsp chopped dried pineapple chunkschopped dried pineapple chunks

kosher salt1 tsp

ground cloves1/2 tsp

ground cinnamon1/8 tsp

blanched slivered almonds60 ml

1/2pear, peeled and diced ½ apple, peeled and diced1/2

peach, peeled and diced1/2

plantain, diced1/4

Large Peppers6

Pomegranate seeds, for garnish

Chopped parsley, for garnish

Flaky sea salt, for garnish

Methods

Step 01.

Make the nogada sauce or walnut sauce. Boil the water in a small pot over high heat. Add the walnuts, cover, and soak for 5 minutes to loosen the skin.

Step 02.

Using your fingers or a paring knife, carefully remove the papery walnut skin off each walnut and place the peeled, skinless walnuts in a bowl. This is a very tedious process and takes patience, but it’s an important step to ensure the sauce doesn’t come out bitter.

Step 03.

Add the skinned walnuts, goat cheese, cheese, milk, sour cream, ground cinnamon, and sugar to a blender. Blend for 5 minutes until completely smooth. Set aside.

Step 04.

Make the filling. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.

Step 05.

Add the ground beef and ground pork. Cook for 6 to 8 minutes, breaking up the meat into small pieces as it cooks.

Step 06.

Stir in the tomato sauce, golden raisins, dried pineapple, salt, black pepper, ground cloves, and ground cinnamon. Cook uncovered for about 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the excess moisture is cooked out.

Step 07.

Reduce the heat to low and stir in the pear, apple, peach, plantain, and slivered almonds. Cover and cook for about 15-20 minutes, until the fruit is tender and cooked through. Set aside to cool slightly.

Step 08.

Prepare the chiles. Line a large baking sheet with aluminium foil and place the poblano peppers on top. Set your oven rack directly underneath the broiler and turn the broiler on

Step 09.

Broil the poblanos for 5 minutes or until the skin is blackened and blistered. Carefully flip them over and broil for another 5 minutes or until the skin is blackened and blistered.

Step 10.

Remove them from the oven and loosely cover the baking sheet with aluminium foil or plastic wrap to keep in some of the heat and help them steam. Let them sit for 5 minutes.

Step 11.

Peel and rub off as much of the loose skin on the peppers as possible. It doesn’t have to be perfect; just as much as you can.

Step 12.

Cut a small slit down the middle of the peppers with a knife. Carefully scoop out and discard the seeds using a spoon.

Step 13.

Assemble the Chiles in walnut sauce. Carefully stuff the peppers with the picadillo filling. Some of the peppers will be extra fragile because of the roasting process and may tear – that’s okay. Just do the best you can. The peppers do not need to fully close, so stuff them as much as you can. 

Step 14.

Garnish and serve. Drizzle the nogada sauce over the peppers and garnish with pomegranate seeds, chopped parsley, and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt. Serve immediately.

Dinner Lunch

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