Chiles En Nogada: Mexico’s Most Patriotic Dish

The supposed history behind the invention of this now ubiquitous, but still seasonal, dish is as follows: following the cry for independence issued by Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla in Dolores de Hidalgo that fateful night of September 15th 1810, came the Mexican War of Independence. This brutal battle didn’t cease for 11 long years, until Agustín de Iturbide signed the Treaty of Independence before stopping off in Puebla on his way back to the capital. A feast was held in his honour, but the townsfolk (or, more specifically, the Augustinian nuns charged with preparing a special dish) were at a loss for what to prepare, given that they could only use ingredients in season at the time. This last-minute panic, something Mexicans to this day thrive on, launched the dish that would come to be considered Mexico’s most patriotic dish; a meat, dried fruit and raisin stuffed poblano chile, doused in creamy walnut sauce and sprinkled with pomegranate seeds and parsley. What a relief it must have been to realise that the red, white and green of the key ingredients coincided with the colours of the Mexican flag!

However, there exists much controversy over the origins of this dish, with some claiming it was merely a seasonal adaptation of a pre-existing recipe. A slightly less commonly believed tale is that three women, all betrothed to members of the Mexican army who would soon be returning from the War of Independence, put their heads together to come up with a dish that would represent the country their loved ones had just fought to defend. Whatever the ‘real’ story is, we know that this dish does hail from Puebla, even though nearby Tlaxcala often tries to lay claim to it. ¡Viva México!