Chiles en Nogada

• Prep45 min
• Cook35 min
• Total1 h 30 min
• Serves6

Ingredients

For the walnut sauce (nogada)

• 150 g walnut halves (1 1/2 cups)
• 120 g queso fresco, crumbled
• 180 g whole milk (3/4 cup)
• 60 g Mexican crema or sour cream (1/4 cup)
• 25 g sugar (2 tbsp)
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 pinch ground cinnamon

For the picadillo

• 100 g white onion, in pieces (1/2 medium)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 30 g vegetable oil (2 tbsp)
• 500 g ground beef and pork, half and half (1 lb)
• 200 g canned diced tomatoes (3/4 cup)
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 15 g sugar (1 tbsp)
• 1 apple, peeled and diced 1 cm (1/2 in) (about 150 g)
• 1 pear, peeled and diced 1 cm (1/2 in) (about 150 g)
• 1 peach, peeled and diced 1 cm (1/2 in) (about 150 g), or 150 g canned peaches, drained
• 1/2 ripe plantain, diced 1 cm (1/2 in) (about 100 g), optional
• 30 g raisins (1/4 cup)
• 30 g slivered almonds (1/4 cup)

For the chiles

• 6 large poblano peppers

To garnish

• Seeds of 1 pomegranate
• Fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
• Walnut halves

Instructions

1. Place the walnuts in a heatproof bowl, cover with boiling water and let them soak for 10 minutes. Drain and rub off any loose skins with a kitchen towel: the fewer skins, the whiter and less bitter the sauce.
2. Place the walnuts, queso fresco, milk, crema, sugar, salt and cinnamon in the mixing bowl and blend 1 min/speed 10, until smooth and pourable. Transfer to a bowl, cover and refrigerate. Rinse the mixing bowl.
3. Roast the poblanos directly over the flame of a gas burner, or under the oven broiler, turning them until blistered and charred all over, 8 to 10 minutes. Place them in a bowl, cover with a plate and let them sweat for 10 minutes. Peel off the skins, make a lengthwise slit in each and remove the seeds, keeping the stem.
4. Place the onion and garlic in the mixing bowl and chop 5 sec/speed 5. Scrape down the sides, add the oil and sauté 4 min/120°C (250°F)/speed 1.
5. Add the ground meat in small pieces and cook 8 min/120°C (250°F)/speed 1, until no longer pink.
6. Add the tomatoes, cinnamon, cloves, salt, pepper and sugar and cook 5 min/100°C (212°F)/reverse/speed 1.
7. Add the apple, pear, peach, plantain, raisins and almonds. Place the simmering basket on the mixing bowl lid instead of the measuring cup and cook 8 min/100°C (212°F)/reverse/speed soft, until the fruit is tender but holds its shape.
8. Fill each chile generously with picadillo and place it on a plate, slit side up.
9. Spoon the walnut sauce over the chiles and garnish with pomegranate seeds, parsley leaves and walnut halves. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Tips

• Make the picadillo and the walnut sauce a day ahead and keep them in the fridge. Warm the picadillo before filling the chiles and take the sauce out 20 minutes early so it is not ice cold.
• Poblanos vary in heat. If yours are spicy, soak the peeled chiles for 15 minutes in water with 1 tbsp vinegar and 1 tbsp sugar, then pat them dry.
• For the classic battered style, coat the stuffed chiles in flour, dip them in whipped egg batter and fry them on the stove before adding the sauce, as in the chiles rellenos recipe.
• To remove pomegranate seeds without a mess, cut the fruit in half and tap the skin with a wooden spoon over a bowl of water.