Celebrate with Chiles en Nogada, the dish of Mexican Independence Day
Mexican Independence Day is on Monday 16 September 2013
Marco Cuervo, chef at Lupita East, and supporter of authentic food supplier mexgrocer.co.uk, shares with us his family recipe of Chiles en Nogada,thedish to eat for Mexican Independence Day celebrations.
Celebrations in Mexico and the UK replicate the moment when the priest rang the church bells and called all Mexicans to rebel against the Spanish invader, this marks the beginning of the war for Mexican independence. A typical party would include a Mariachi band, fireworks, traditional dance and of course a special menu and loads of tequila.
Katya Torres De la Rocha, CEO of mexgrocer.co.uk, shares with us the importance of food on Mexican Independence Day: "Mexican Independence Day, also known as, "El Grito" is a time for celebration! One of the main components of these celebrations is food, and lots of it. Chiles en Nogada symbolises the Mexican flag and the dish is bursting with flavour and colours, I am delighted that Marco Cuervo is sharing his recipe with us!"
Mexgrocer.co.uk supplies authentic Mexican food around the UK. If you want to celebrate in style and with the best quality ingredients shipped directly from Mexico, mexgrocer.co.uk is the only place for you to buy your ingredients from.
Mexgrocer.co.uk is selling Mexican Independence Day Hampers which include 16 products, ranging from Salsa Bufalo to a range of dried chillies, perfect for fiestas! You can view the hamper here:www.mexgrocer.co.uk/mexican-independence-day.html
Chiles en Nogada is a unique dishconsisting of green chillies, white walnut sauce and red pomegranate, the ingredients in the dish signifies the colours of the Mexican flag. Marco Cuervo's recipe is broken down into four sections, perfect for a complete Mexican cook beginner: how to clean the Poblano chilli, how to prepare the Nogada Sauce, how to prepare the filling and lastly how to present the Chiles en Nogada. You need to start preparing the Nogada sauce 12 hours in advance.
Marco Cuervo'sfamily recipe for Chiles en Nogada
Feeds: 6
Preparation time: 2 hours
Ingredients
6 Large size Poblano Chillies clean and seedless (in a tin they are ready to use)
4 teaspoons of salt
2 teaspoons of Piloncillo shredded (or raw sugar)
2 tablespoons of apple vinegar
Sprigs of fresh Parsley for garnish
Seeds of 1 pomegranate
To clean the Poblano chilli
Roast lightly over the grill until you get black spots and the skin begins to tear apart. Sprinkle the chillies with salt and place it in a bowl,covering with cling film or a damp cloth allows the steam to help remove the skin. Carefully remove the skin, helping with the damped cloth. Remove the membrane and seeds making an incision in the middle and soak the chillies in water with salt, raw sugar and vinegar for 20 minutes. Drain the water and place over paper towel to dry.
The chillies are ready to stuff. Keep at room temperature.
Buy San Miguel Poblano whole chillis to skip cleaning the chilli.
Ingredients for the Nogada Sauce
250g of walnut halves
400ml of milk
500g of crème fraiche
350g of queso fresco ( substitute salted ricotta cheese)
30ml of Port or sweet Sherry
4 tablespoons of sugar
2 pinch of white pepper
1 pinch of salt
To prepare the Nogada Sauce
Place the walnuts in a small bowl and cover with the milk and let soak for 12 hours.
Drain the walnuts, reserving half of the milk; blend and puree with the creme fraiche and the cheese, adding the milk, port or Sherry, sugar and salt. Refrigerate.
Ingredients for the filling
250g of mince beef
250g mince pork
6 garlic cloves
2 whole cinnamon stick ( 5 cm)
4 tablespoons of chopped parsley
80 ml of cooking oil
200g of diced white onion
500g of peeled and diced plum tomato
2 apples
2 peaches
2 plantain
60g of raisins
60g of blanched, chopped and roasted walnuts
1 tablespoon of sea salt
Fresh ground black pepper
Preparing the filling
Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the chopped onion and garlic and sauté until is transparent.
Add the mince beef and pork and salt previously mixed and cook until is sealed.
Add the diced fruits, raisins, almonds, cinnamon and black pepper; sauté stirring constantly cooking over medium heat for 5 minutes.
Add the tomatoes and chopped parsley and cook for another 5 minutes mixing all ingredients.
Check the seasoning and cook for 10 minutes more until the fruit is cooked and the mixture has thickened. Remove the cinnamon stick and Reserve at room temperature.
Presentation of the Chiles en Nogada
Use a spoon to stuff the chillies with same portions of the meat filling in order to be able to wrap it properly.
Place 1 Chilli per plate, cover with the walnut sauce and sprinkle pomegranate seeds on top.
Garnish with sprigs of parsley around the plate or on top of the chilli.
The Chiles en Nogada can be served at room temperature or chilled and can be stuffed in advance the day before what helps to melt better all flavours and ingredients together.
ENDS.
Editor's Notes:
For more information or images contact redheadPR:
Emma De Maio on 07921 160 134 or email emma@redheadpr.co.uk