The season has already started chile en nogada, the traditional Mexican dish that celebrates our independence as a country! Although Puebla is one of the best destinations to try them in different ways, Mexico City has great and enviable options for you to choose the best, among them is the Festival of Chile in Nogada.
It is an event that brings together the efforts of hoteliers, inns and restaurants from the A and B quadrants of the Historic Center of Mexico City, who make their own chile en nogada available to the public, with modified versions of the dish or its traditional version. . There will be so many options that you will surely find the one that satisfies your palate.
The Festival del Chile en Nogada will take place from August 16 to September 30 in different locations, for which the Government of Mexico City has made an interactive map available to the public with the locations, hours and contact information of the participants. from the restaurant trade:
Chile en Nogada Festival: learn about the history of the dish
There are different versions about the appearance of the chiles en nogada at the Mexican table. However, it is known that dates from 1821year in which Agustin de Iturbide signed the Act of Independence of Mexico and the Treaties of Córdoba.
Some say that they were the Augustinian mothers of the Convent of Santa Monica in Puebla those who, knowing that Don Agustín would be in that city to celebrate his saint’s day, on August 28, decided to make a dish that would recall the colors of the Trigarante Army flag.
That is why they opted for green, white and red. In addition, being precisely the month in which walnuts and pomegranates are harvested in that state, it occurred to them, after much thought, to make this wonderful dish.
Let’s do it!
The mothers took some poblano peppersThey roasted, peeled and cleaned them very well on the inside. Then they proceeded to fill them with a hash rich in ingredients and flavors based on pork, tomato, onion, garlic, seasonal fruits, walnuts, almonds, pine nuts and various spices.
All that remained was to prepare the sauce with which they were going to cover them. And what better than making a very original one based on fresh Castilla nuts. They got to work and the first thing they did was peel them perfectly. In this way they removed every last bit of the thin skin that covers them.
Subsequently, they ground the nuts in the metate with fresh cheese and a little sugar. Once well ground, they mixed it with milk, added a bit of sherry and it was ready. That is, neither too thick nor too watery, with the perfect point to cover the chiles.
Another version that explains its origin
On the other hand, the writer Artemio del Valle Arizpe He says that in Don Agustín’s regiment there were three soldiers who had girlfriends in Puebla. They wanted to receive them with a special dish that had to have the colors of their uniform, those of the trigarante flag.
For the same reason, each one looked for the ingredient that had one of the colors and did not want to resort to any recipe book. They prayed to the Virgen del Rosario and San Pascual Bailón to enlighten them. Then they started cooking and the result was what we already know.
By Rodrigo Osegueda
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