¡Exquisitos Chiles en Nogada! ¡Ricos Chiles en Nogada! ¡Autenticos Chiles en Nogada! !Una temporada: Chiles en Nogada!

Apart from the omnipresent chocolate and chile sauce known as Mole Poblano, the Poblanos seem to be most proud of their Chiles en Nogada, a specialty in Puebla available during for the summer, although with globalization, I imagine they could offer it all year if they wanted. But that would take away from the advertising frenzy and probably from the high prices its three month season allows them.

Chiles en Nogada are delicious, but also overrated. I first heard of them teaching English in Vancouver, where one of my students made a reverential presentation about Mexican food in general, and Chiles en Nogada in particular. It’s a dish that seems to appeal not only to the culinary side of Mexicans, but also the patriotic side. The chile was an important pre-colombian food staple, and as such a part of the modern people’s cultural heritage. The tongue-scaldingly hot chiles that Mexico is famous for are also a logical addition to the diet: street food is rife with bacteria, but the strength of some of those chiles will kill practically anything in your stomach that could harm you. And Chiles en Nogada are particularly patriotic: the dish contains the three colours of the Mexican flag, red for the blood of heroes, green for hope, and the white that binds them together.

More simply put, however, this dish consists of a large, mild green chile, stuffed with fruit (often apple, pear, and peach) and blanketed in a white, creamy walnut sauce (a nogal is a walnut tree). It is then sprinkled with pomegranate seeds (individual drops of hero-blood I imagine) and then often with parsely to reinforce the green colour. They are tasty, although in a strange, sweet, and often tepid way. I would recommend, if two or three people go for dinner, getting one Chile en Nogada to share, and something else as well. But hurry! The season this year is almost over!