Chiles en Nogada

Adapted from a recipe by Jorge Gonzalez, Rosewood Puebla

5 poblano chiles, roasted, seeded and peeled

To prepare the chile: Take a paring knife, make a slit across the top of a chile just below the stem, leaving the stem intact. Starting from the middle of the slit, slice lengthwise down to the tip of the pepper. Open the chile and pull out the seeds and inner membranes. You may need to use a paring knife to loosen the top of the seedpod.

STUFFING 4 tablespoons vegetable oil,

divided 4 garlic cloves, peeled, divided 1 cup red onion, minced 4 cups ground pork 2 ripe plantains, diced 4 peaches, diced 2 golden apples, diced 2 Asian pears, diced 2 teaspoons brown sugar ¾ cup golden raisins ½ teaspoon cinnamon ¼ teaspoon ground cloves ¼ teaspoon black pepper Salt, as needed ¾ cup almonds, sliced ¾ cup pine nuts 2 cups tomato, purée ½ cup pomegranate seeds, for

garnish ¼ cup chopped parsley, for garnish

Instructions: Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large skillet at mediumhigh heat. Add two whole garlic cloves and fry until the oil is seasoned and the cloves are brown. Discard the cloves. Add minced onion and ground pork to the pan and cook down, stirring constantly. Season with salt. Reduce heat to medium, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Set aside to let cool.

In another large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil over mediumhigh heat. Add two whole garlic cloves and fry until the oil is seasoned and the cloves are brown. Discard the cloves and reduce to medium heat.

Add chopped fruit (plantains, peaches, apples, pears), brown sugar and raisins to the hot oil and gently cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add cinnamon, cloves, pepper, salt, almonds and pine nuts and cook, allowing the aromatics to bloom, for about 1 minute. Add tomato purée and the reserved meat mixture and cook for 5 minutes, uncovered. Set aside to cool while making the sauce.

NOGADA SAUCE 1 cup fresh walnut pieces, soaked

in water for eight hours ½ cup cream cheese ½ cup goat cheese 2 cups cream ½ sherry ¼ cup sugar

Instructions: Mix the ingredients in a blender and blend until creamy. Set aside while you’re stuffing and frying the chiles. BATTER 5 eggs ¼ cup all-purpose flour 2 cups vegetable oil

Instructions: Separate egg yolk from egg white. In a bowl, whisk egg whites to stiff peaks. Fold in two of the egg yolks and whisk to incorporate. Reserve remaining yolks for another use.

ASSEMBLY

Fill each prepared pepper with about ¼ to 1⁄3 cup of the cooled filling. Fold in the sides to cover the filling, then thread 2 toothpicks across the seam to form an X. You will probably need to make a second toothpick X to secure each chile so the filling doesn’t leak out when you fry.

In a heavy frying pan, heat oil (must be about an inch deep) to mediumhigh heat or until a deep-fry thermometer registers 375 degrees.

Place flour in a pie pan and dredge stuffed chile in flour (or lightly sprinkle the stuffed chile with flour). Gently holding the chile by stem and tip, dunk in egg whites and quickly transfer to frying pan, carefully placing in hot oil. Fry to golden then place on a papertowel-lined cookie sheet. Repeat with other chiles.

Quickly transfer to plates and top generously with nogada sauce. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and parsley.