Chiles en Nogada

Is one of Mexico's most anticipated dishes — traditionally served around Independence Day, when pomegranates come into season and the dish's green, white, and red take on their full meaning. Poblano peppers, stuffed with a fruit-and-spice picadillo, blanketed in a chilled walnut cream sauce, finished with pomegranate seeds and parsley.

This September, we're making it at home — and pouring our 2019 Brut Rosé alongside it. The wine's crisp acidity cuts through the richness of the nogada sauce, while its own touch of residual sugar meets the dish's sweetness instead of fighting it. Its red fruit notes even echo the pomegranate garnish. 

Serves 6

For the poblanos

• 6 large poblano peppers, roasted, peeled, and slit lengthwise (seeds and veins removed, stem left intact)

For the picadillo filling

• 1 tbsp neutral oil
• 1 lb (450g) ground pork (or a pork/beef blend)
• ½ white onion, finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 medium tomatoes, diced
• 1 apple, peeled and diced
• 1 pear, peeled and diced
• 1 peach, diced
• ⅓ cup raisins
• ⅓ cup blanched slivered almonds
• ¼ cup diced candied citron (acitrón), or additional dried fruit if unavailable
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ground cloves
• Salt and pepper to taste

For the walnut cream sauce (nogada)

• 1½ cups fresh walnuts, soaked in milk 2–4 hours (or overnight), skins removed
• ½ cup queso fresco or goat cheese
• ½ cup crema mexicana (or crème fraîche)
• ¼ cup milk, more as needed for consistency
• 1 tbsp sugar
• Pinch of ground cinnamon
• Pinch of salt

To finish

• Seeds of 1 pomegranate
• A few sprigs of fresh flat-leaf parsley

Method

1. Roast the poblanos. Char over an open flame or under the broiler until blackened on all sides. Transfer to a covered bowl to steam for 10 minutes, then peel off the skins. Slit each pepper lengthwise and remove the seeds and veins, keeping the stem intact for presentation.
2. Make the picadillo. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the onion and garlic until soft, then add the pork and cook until browned, breaking it up as it goes. Add the tomato, apple, pear, peach, raisins, almonds, and candied citron. Season with cinnamon, cloves, salt, and pepper, and simmer uncovered for 15–20 minutes, until the fruit softens and the mixture thickens. Taste and adjust — the filling should be gently sweet and warmly spiced, never sugary.
3. Make the nogada. Drain the soaked walnuts and blend with the queso fresco, crema, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and salt until completely smooth. Add more milk a tablespoon at a time if needed — the sauce should coat the back of a spoon but still pour easily. Chill until ready to serve.
4. Assemble. Stuff each poblano generously with the warm picadillo. Arrange on a platter, ladle the chilled walnut sauce over the top, and finish with pomegranate seeds and parsley — the green, white, and red echoing the Mexican flag.
5. Serve. Traditionally served at room temperature, sauce chilled against warm filling.

Pour It With

The dish is ready.
Now pour the wine it was made to sit next to.