Liddie’s Traditional New Mexican Dishes: Chiles En Nogada

Submitted by Carol A. Clark
on September 5, 2024
- 8:41 am

Chiles en Nogada. Photo by Liddie Martinez

Roasted chiles prepared to include in Chiles en Nogada. Photo by Liddie Martinez

By LIDDIE MARTINEZ
Española Valley

This might be one of the most perfect culinary delights I have ever eaten. The first time I had Chiles en Nogada, I was in Durango, Mexico working on the committee to establish El Camino Real as a National Historic Trail. The committee was invited to dinner at the Governor’s Palace and the chef served this beautiful dish with a depth of flavor that kept challenging my taste buds as I tried to workout what the ingredients were. The presentation was spectacular, a homage to the Mexican flag in red, white and green. These chile rellenos were the best I had ever tasted. Completely different from the egg battered cheese stuffed versions we make in New Mexico; it was easy to see that this was a close cousin.

I have waited to share this recipe because I felt the relationship would be better understood after a few years of sharing traditional New Mexican dishes. By now, it should be very apparent that much of our New Mexican cuisine is really a very old fusion of traditional Spanish, Native American and Mexican dishes, a blend of flavors that couldn’t be helped. In the short span of 36 years, from 1810 – 1846 our beloved New Mexico was ruled by Spain, Mexico, and the United States following thousands of years as an indigenous nation.

Chiles en Nogada is a dish that commemorates El Grito de Dolores, the beginning of the Mexican War of Independence from Spain after 300 years of Spanish Rule and just 25 years before the Mexican American War. While this is a Mexican dish, our shared culture is visible: the filling, called picadillo, can be traced back to Spain where it was used in empanadas in the Middle Ages. The chile has been cultivated in Mexico for more than 6,000 years. Our own version of chile rellenos was born from this Mexican dish as chile arrived in present day New Mexico with the Spaniards in 1598.

I sometimes get a bit of pushback about dishes I share and while I would agree that this is a Mexican dish, its influence on our New Mexican cuisine is notable and should be celebrated.

This dish has very complex flavors and many ingredients, but I have broken it all down into steps so that it can be easily accomplished. My best advice is to read through the entire recipe a few times until you are comfortable with all the steps, then take the time to chop everything ahead of time. I have gotten used to using Andouille sausage as a substitute for chorizo because I have not been able to source a good chorizo but, if you can find it, chorizo is excellent, and traditional in this dish.

Ingredients

8 poblano chiles roasted, peeled and seeded

12 oz. beef, thinly sliced, then diced

3 Andouille sausages, casings removed

1 small onion, finely diced

1 Yukon gold potato, finely diced

1 cup cherry tomatoes, roasted

2 white flesh peaches, peeled and diced

1 carrot, finely diced

1 zucchini, finely diced

⅓ cup golden raisins

½ peas, fresh or frozen

1⅓ cup almond slivers, chopped

1 Tbsp. brown sugar

½ tsp cinnamon

⅓ cup water

4 Tbsps. olive oil, divided

2 pomegranates, seeded

1 small bunch cilantro, leaves only, chopped

Nogada

¾ cup heavy cream

½ cup half & half

½ cup walnuts, shelled

1 Tbsp. brown sugar

½ tsp. cinnamon

You can thin the sauce with a splash of milk to desired consistency

Steps:

Cook meat in water breaking up sausage pieces as they cook. Remove from pan reserving liquid
Preheat oven to 375° toss tomatoes in 1 tsp of the olive oil and place in cast iron skillet. Roast in hot oven for 40 minutes. Puree roasted tomatoes with reserved pan drippings. Pour into small brown and add diced peaches then, set sauce aside. (hint: diced peaches in the tomato sauce to prevents browning)
Heat remailing olive oil in a deep skillet over medium high heat and sauté onions for 2-3 minutes.
Add potatoes and cook for 5 minutes
Add meat and stir.
Add tomato sauce.
Add carrots, zucchini and raisins and cook for 5 minutes.
Add peas, brown sugar, almonds and cinnamon and stir. Cook for 10 minutes on medium low covered.
Meanwhile, make Nogada and set aside.
After 10 minutes, uncover and cook for 5-8 minutes until pan is dry but mixture is moist.
Gently stuff Poblanos and Plate.
Spoon Nogada over chile and garnish with chopped cilantro and pomegranate seeds.

Serves 8

Editor’s note: Liddie Martinez is the author of the popular award winning Chile Line Cookbook: Historic Recipes of Northern New Mexico, which is available online at https://thechileline505.square.site/.