Chiles en nogada
Chiles en Nogada (“nogada” from “nogal”, Spanish walnut tree ) are a traditional Mexican dish consisting of stuffed poblano peppers with walnut sauce and pomegranate seeds . Because of its symbolism , the dish is considered a Mexican national dish , the ingredients represent the national colors of Mexico (poblanos are green, the sauce white and pomegranate seeds are red). Chiles en Nogada are popular in Mexico from the end of August, when the walnut harvest begins.
The court
Chiles en Nogada are usually filled with picadillo , a Mexican-seasoned minced meat that is also used as a taco filling . There are many variations of picadillo, typical ingredients are tomatoes, onions, occasionally garlic, olives, capers and raisins are also added. The specialty of the picadillo for Chiles en Nogada is that fruits and nuts are added to the braised minced meat. The “cookbook authority” for Mexican cuisine outside Mexico, Diana Kennedy , lists pears and peaches as ingredients in her recipe.
The poblanos are briefly grilled over an open flame so that the skin falls off or can be peeled off. In the following, the pods are also occasionally breaded and fried . However, this last step is controversial and Kennedy also explains that breading and deep-frying would overload Chiles en Nogada.
The poblanos are served with a sauce, the main ingredients of which are ground walnuts, mild Mexican cheese and cream. There are sweet and salty variations of the walnut sauce. Finally, the dish is sprinkled with fresh pomegranate seeds.
history
Chiles en Nogada are a traditional dish from the state of Puebla, south of Mexico City . Diana Kennedy reports that Chiles en Nogada were supposedly first served at a banquet in honor of Agustín de Iturbide in 1821 . After the signing of the Tratados de Córdoba , Mexico's independence was secured and only dishes in the national colors of Mexico were served at the banquet.
By Rachel Laudan and Jeffrey M. Pilcher Chiles en Nogada is also the culinary tradition Iberian peninsula linked. The term “nogada” can already be found in a cookbook published in Madrid in 1699. In the Mexican cookbook Recetario de Dominga de Guzmán from the middle of the 18th century, there is also the chicken dish Nogada portuguesa , which already contains the typical walnut sauce. However, this publication in Mexico does not speak against a European origin, especially since it was explicitly noted in the cookbooks if the origin of the dish was suspected in the New World.
Politics and culture
The (historically unsecured) history and color scheme give the dish national symbolism and it is often served on Mexican Independence Day on September 16 . By Donald Stevens Chiles en Nogada is therefore even referred to as "prominent court of Mexican nationalism."
A detailed description of the dish and recipe can also be found in the novel Como agua para chocolate (German: Bittersweet chocolate ) by the Mexican writer Laura Esquivel .
literature
- Jeffrey M. Pilcher: Que vivan los tamales !: Food and the Making of Mexican Identity , University of New Mexico Press, 1998, ISBN 0-8263-1873-8
Web links
swell
- ^ A b c Diana Kennedy: The Cuisines of Mexico ISBN 0-06-012344-3
- ↑ By Rachel Laudan and Jeffrey M. Pilcher: "Chiles, Chocolate, and Race in New Spain: Glancing Backward to Spain or Looking Forward to Mexico?" In: Eighteenth-Century Life , 1999, pp. 59-70.
- ↑ Diego Granado: Libro del arte , Madrid, 1699, p. 98
- ↑ Recetario de Dominga de Guzmán, around 1750, new edition edited by Guadalupe Pérez San Vicente, Mexico City, Sanborns, 1996
- ↑ By Rachel Laudan and Jeffrey M. Pilcher: "Chiles, Chocolate, and Race in New Spain: Glancing Backward to Spain or Looking Forward to Mexico?" In: Eighteenth-Century Life , 1999, p. 65
- ↑ Donald Stevens: “¡Que vivan los tamales! Food and the Making of Mexican Identity by Jeffrey M. Pilcher ", in: The Americas , Vol. 55, No. 3.1999, pp. 496-499.
- ↑ Laura Esquivel: Como agua para chocolate , Anchor, 1989, ISBN 0-385-72123-4