Stuffed chillies with walnut & pomegranate dressing
I was convinced this dish was Spanish, as it has so many Spanish /Moorish flavours, including sherry, pomegranates, walnuts and almonds, but it is from Puebla, and is said to have been created to celebrate Mexican independence from Spain. It is intended to show the colours of the Mexican flag, with the green chilli, white walnut and milk sauce, and the red pomegranate seeds. We couldn’t get green chillies for the photo so we used red – but the coriander served us for the Mexican flag.
SERVES 8
8 large poblano chillies
30ml olive oil
100g celery, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
100g carrot, finely chopped
200g minced beef
200g minced pork
30ml sweet sherry
30g raisins
25g candied mixed peel
50g flaked almonds
75g pecan nuts, chopped pinch of fresh thyme leaves
½ tsp dried oregano
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp salt
10 turns black peppermill
FOR THE NOGADA SAUCE
300ml whole milk
50g pecan nuts
50g walnut pieces
75g cream cheese
50g ricotta or curd cheese
15ml sweet sherry seeds of ½ pomegranate, fresh coriander, to serve
1 Using a pair of tongs, char the peppers over a flame until blackened, then peel off the charred skin and set aside.
2 For the filling, heat the olive oil in a frying pan over low to medium heat and sweat the celery, onion and carrot for about 10 minutes until softened.
Turn up the heat, add the beef and pork, and fry until lightly browned, then add the sherry, raisins, candied peel, nuts, herbs and cinnamon, and season with salt and pepper. Cook briefly, then remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
3 FOR THE NOGADA SAUCE Blitz all the ingredients in a blender to a rich creamy consistency.
4 Very carefully slit down one side of each of the chillies and scrape out the seeds using a teaspoon. Fill the chillies with the meat and fruit mixture, then place on a serving plate and drizzle over some of the Nogada Sauce. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and coriander. Serve with a bowl of the cold Nogada Sauce so everyone can help themselves.