Mexico Cooks!

Rajas de Chile Poblano con Crema, Cebolla, y Elote :: Chile Poblano Strips with Onion, Corn Kernels, and Cream, A Classic of the Mexican Kitchen

Mexico Cooks! published an article about rajas de chile poblano about 6 months ago.  This is an updated and revised version of the previous publication, with all-new photos and some new tips.  Enjoy!

The chile poblano is one of the most commonly used fresh chiles in Mexico's kitchen.  A very large, fleshy chile, it can measure as much as seven or eight inches long.  The stem end is much wider than the point, and the color ranges from dark green to almost black-green. Shopping tip: if you buy chiles poblano that are flat on all sides, they will roast more quickly than if they are deeply creased in spots.  The flat sides will evenly touch the roasting surface.

The chile poblano is commonly used for preparing main dishes such as chiles rellenos, including the seasonal and festive chiles en nogada.  It is also used for making rajas de chile poblano con crema (strips of chile poblano with cream), a marvelously flavorful vegetable side dish.  All photos by Mexico Cooks! unless otherwise noted.


Chiles poblano roasted with skin removed, showing the interior of the opened chile (left) and the exterior (right).  These are two of the four chiles I used to prepare this dish. To prepare chiles poblano for use in any recipe, wash and roast them.  Don't try to use them with the peel on; the peels will be as tough as trying to chew through plastic.  Mexico Cooks! uses a cast iron comal (griddle) placed over a high flame to roast as many as four to six chiles at a time.  Other cooks prefer to roast these chiles one at a time over an open flame, or on a broiler pan in a slightly open oven. No matter which roasting method you use, the roasted chiles should look like the ones in the above photo.

Once the chiles are roasted, put them in a plastic bag, twist it shut, and allow the chiles to 'sweat' for 10 to 15 minutes.  You'll easily be able to remove the blackened peels.  It's best not to rinse them--or rinse them only a little--as rinsing removes a good bit of the delicious chile poblano flavor.  


The slit-open chiles with the seeds still inside.  At the foreground of the photo, you can see that I removed the stem with the bulk of the seeds.  Simply cut around the stem and pull it and the seeds out of the chile.


Two of the chiles still on the cutting board, with one of my 50+-year-old Sabatier carbon steel knives.  


All four chiles, seeded and cut into rajas (strips about 3" long and less than 1/2" wide).


Half of a large white onion, thinly sliced and ready to sauté. The ingredients include half a white onion, sliced very thin, and about half a cup of fresh (or canned) yellow corn kernels.


Sauté the onions first, until they are soft and translucent.  Then add the rajas and continue to sauté until they are soft, but still have a bit of crispness.


Add the corn and continue to sauté briefly.


Add Mexican crema de mesa (table cream, not sour cream) if you can find it.  Crema Aguascalientes is the one I prefer to use.  If Mexican table cream isn't available, use sour cream instead. 


Salt to taste and let the cream and vegetables simmer briefly. The cream will become a thick sauce for the vegetables.  The chile poblano is generally quite mild and flavorful, but once in a while you will come across one that is surprisingly spicy.  There's no way to tell by looking at them whether they are mild or hot, and either way they're delicious and not overly 'hot'.

The recipe as you see it written here, using four large chiles, will serve 3 to 4 people as a side dish.  It's excellent served hot or at room temperature.  I've never met anyone who doesn't love rajas de chile poblano served this way!

Provecho! (Good eating!)

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The World of Clowns in Morelia :: El Mundo de Payasos en Morelia

Mexico Cooks! is repeating this article (originally published in January 2010) because yesterday while I was coming home from shopping at a downtown food market, a terrific clown (his 'wig' was foot-tall green grass!) stepped off the curb at a stoplight and did some juggling in front of the windshield.  With that, I was taken back to the Mexican world of clowns.  World Clown Day, often celebrated in Morelia, is such a lot of fun!  These Mexican clowns are just for play--there's nothing to scare you here!  Enjoy this week's publication, not the least bit food related!


Morelia's well-known Mario Galván is Beto Botones (Bert Buttons).  Don't be frightened--these Mexican clowns are completely harmless!

One sunny Saturday not too long ago, Mexico Cooks! hopped into the car and headed for downtown Morelia: it was the annual Día Mundial del Payaso (World Day of the Clown) and we wanted to see the local clown parade as it trouped west on Avenida Madero from Plaza Villalongín to the Cathedral.

Nearly 100 payasos (clowns) form Morelia's clown community.  Entire families, in colorful wigs and ear-to-ear painted smiles, pass the joy of laughter and delight from one generation to the next.  The patriarch among them is Beto Botones, personified by Mario Galván.  His 23 years as a clown and magician make him one of the elder statesmen in the Morelia clown community.  Now his sons, 11-year-old Oscar Eduardo (Bombonetto) and 14-year-old Mario Alberto (Beto Bettín) are also part of the group. 

This beautifully made-up clown has also drawn his family into the act: his wife and his gorgeous baby daughter have joined the fun.  His young wife said, "Most of the women who are clowns are here because of our husbands.  They were clowns when we married them, so we got involved, too."

A relative newcomer to Morelia's clown community.  Learning to be a true clown is a lifetime occupation.  Some boys start clowning as early as age four or five.

There's more to becoming a clown than simply putting on makeup and a red nose.  For the professional clown, the work of laughter is serious business.  Most attend clown conventions and workshops, where they learn new routines and participate in competitions.  It's not cheap to be a clown: the right costume and makeup can cost more than 7000 pesos (approximately $600 USD at the time this article was first published, in 2010).  Many clowns have a profession in addition to clowning: Eduaro Espinaza (Tornillito), one of Morelia's most sought-after clowns, is also an auto mechanic.   Beto Botones said, "In other big cities, a clown can charge 1000 pesos or more for working a party.  Here in Morelia, most charge 600 to 650."

A young malabarista (juggler) shows off his skill.

In the worldwide clown community, there are a number of types of clowns.  Mexico's professional clowns adhere to the same fascinating guidelines.

• CLOWN: he's also known as Carablanca (Whiteface), Pierrot, Enharinado (Flourface) and Listo (Clever).  Normally he's made up in whiteface and wears an elegant, shiny costume.  When there's a clown confrontation among the various types, he always wins--always!  He represents law and order and the adult world.
• AUGUSTO: He's also known as Tonto (the Fool).  He's more naive than all the rest and he's always on the receiving end of any joke.

Purple wig, green eye shadow, glittery nose, and orange suit--brilliant!

• SEGUNDO AUGUSTO: He's also known as "Contraugusto" or "Trombo".  He's the third figure in a trio of clowns and is often also a musician.
• EXCENTRICO: This clown has evolved from the role of 'Augusto'.  He is normally mute and sometimes uses musical instruments or other objects like juggling pins or balls.

Buck teeth, spiky hair, and starry glasses!

• VAGABUNDO (or TRAMP): His character is sad, oppressed, and abandoned.
• PAYASO DE SOIRÉE: This clown is normally an 'augusto'.  He acts out his specialty in the entrance to events.
• MIMO-CLOWN: This guy is a variation on the first clown category.  He's usually mute, but he has a lot of tricks up his sleeve.  He can juggle, he's sometimes an acrobat, and he can often play a musical instrument or two.

Another juggler, in full regalia.

• MESIÉ LOYAL: He's the ringmaster and the director of the show--the ultimate authority.

• CLOWN DE PERSONAJE: We can identify this clown by his character or profession.  He might be a fireman, a sailor, a doctor, or a cowboy.  Or, he might take on the role of a policeman, a child, or someone from a familiar story.

This clown's face makeup is superb.  Mexico Cooks! particularly loved his eyelashes and golden tears.


In addition to this time-honored hierarchy of clowns, Mexico is home to many informal and little-trained stoplight clowns who work our cities' street corners.  You saw some of them in the January 16, 2009, Mexico Cooks! article Lo Que Se Ve En El Crucero.  Beto Botones said, "These street clowns wear jeans, they don't follow the norms of real clowns, they think it's too costly to train and work professionally.  But it's important to follow clown traditions.  It's not right that they don't know our history, our theories, and that they don't want to act like professionals."

The wig!  The tongue!  The gloves, the shirt, the vest!  Who could resist him?

The trained clown always has a red nose, a bright plastic sign that this is a real clown.  His wig can be any color he wants, as long as it goes with his personality.  Today, his makeup is usually airbrushed onto his face in the style that suits him best.  Usually he wears gloves; the "Augusto" generally uses a dandy's white gloves. 

These payasitos--baby clowns--are totally adorable.  The little guy on the right sports a wonderful hat.

The shoes: a clown, especially an "Augusto", is notable for his gigantic, bulbous, and colorful footwear that serves to call attention to his character.  A clown's suit is almost always copious, with big hidden pockets filled with balls, juggling pins, hats, and handkerchiefs: the stuff of magic, jokes, and laughter.

At last, the desfile de payasos (clown parade) turned the corner onto Avenida Madero!  Even with the difficult economic situation in today's Mexico, Morelia's payasos haven't lost their sense of humor, their smiles, or their optimism.

Morelia's professional payasos are available to work all kinds parties and other special events.  Nothing enlivens a child's birthday party like a clown; nothing but a clown takes a suddenly too-serious event to another level of fun.  How wonderful to know that Mexico's traditional clowns live on for future generations' laughter.

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Food, Flowers, and the Best Signs in Any Market :: Mercado de Jamaica, Mexico City

One view of the exterior of Mexico City's Mercado de Jamaica.  As is true in most Mexican markets, you'll find everything from fresh figs to duct tape, from a haircut to a great midday meal: in other words, exactly what you're looking for.  However, this particular market specializes in wholesale flowers.  In addition to its hodgepodge of everything under the sun, the vendors here sell literally millions and millions of flowers every single day.  Photo courtesy John Woods.


Nuns buying flowers for their convent.  Approximately 80% of the flowers at the market are grown in the State of Mexico, which is separate from but almost completely surrounds Mexico City.  In the State of Mexico, flower growing generates a yearly economic bounty of $2,700,000,000 pesos: two billion seven hundred million, folks. It's not a typo. 

A few of the literally millions of beautiful blooms available at either wholesale or retail prices at the market.

Freesias, one of my favorite flowers--the scent is irresistible.

Many of Mexico City's markets use this sort of printed sign to advertise the price of what's for sale--in this case, vine-ripened Roma tomatoes--and every sign has a bit of advice to offer about your potential purchase.  I've loved these signs since long before moving to Mexico's capital.  On this market jaunt, the lightbulb went on: all of you would love these typical and sometimes funny signs, too.  This one urges, "Don't think about it too much...take home a little kilo!".

For already-cut-up calabaza de castilla (a hard-shell Mexican squash): 'money well spent'.

For limón criollo (Mexican limes): I'll be right with you!

Limas--and there really is no translation for this uniquely Mexican fruit.  They are neither limes nor lemons, nor are they oranges.  But as the sign says: it's scrumptious!


Pink-fleshed guavas--the sign reads, "Take the best!"  And the orange sign to the left says, "Give Trump a trumpada..." with a papaya!  Loosely translated, it means bop him one with a papaya.  You can also see plastic cups filled with pomegranate arils, whole pomegranates, bananas, clementines, and cantaloupes.

Chile jalapeño: pretty and cheap, at four pesos the quarter kilo (approximately two cents for a half-pound). 

Mexico's papa Alfa--white potatoes for 10 pesos the kilo: smile.

Beautiful fresh, crisp cucumbers: ask for more.

In Mexico, if something is super-wonderful, people say often say, "...no tiene madre..." (it has no mother).  It's common but very rude language.  In this case, the merchant's sign for the apples says, "...de poca mad...", or "...it has only a little bit of mother...", but just barely skirts accepted language boundaries by cutting the ..."re...", off the madre, leaving you to think of the word by yourself.    


Tomate verde (tomatillo, in English) at six pesos the kilo: 'Don't look any further!'

This merchant is offering his chiles jalapeños at 14 pesos the kilo by poking fun at popular advertising: 'Like you saw on TV'."

Tunas are cactus fruits, and extremely refreshing and delicious.  Their texture is like watermelon.  In this case, the sign reads, "Tunas Chingonas"--the best translation I can think up is badass cactus fruit!


Here's a peeled tuna.  The fruit is easier to peel than a tangerine; cut off each end, slit the thick skin, and peel it off the fruit.  I buy them often during their season (right now!) and love to make agua fresca de tuna (fresh water made from tunas).

This sign is my current favorite. "Ni hablar mujer" means 'Lady, don't even talk about it!'.  The phrase is also part of a Pedro Infante song.

Next year, plan to come along with us to this marvelous market.  Ahorita la atiendo!

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Independence Day in Mexico :: History, Parades, and an All-Night Party

Street vendors hawk la bandera nacional (the Mexican flag) in dozens of forms for several weeks during August and right up to September 16, Mexico's Independence Day. It's always fun to see what's the latest item for sale in patriotic tchotchkes.  In this photo, you see a vendor near the zócalo (Plaza de la Constitución) in Mexico City.  Photo courtesy Starmedia.

Although the entire month of September is dedicated to Mexican independence from Spain, Mexico's official struggle for freedom from Spanish colonization began sometime between midnight and dawn on September 16, 1810, when Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla gave the Grito de Dolores (Cry of Dolores) from the parish bell tower in the town known today as Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato.  Mexico celebrates its day of Fiestas Patrias (Patriotic Holidays) on September 16 with parades of school children and military battalions, politicians proclaiming speeches, and general festivity. 


Another flag vendor, this time in Morelia, Michoacán.  This man was already out selling flags and other Independence-related items just before the end of August 2019.  All photos copyright Mexico Cooks! unless otherwise noted.

Hundreds of books have been written about Mexico's break from Spain, millions of words have been dedicated to exploring the lives of the daring men and women who knew, more than 200 years ago, that the time had come for freedom.  You can read some of the history on the Internet. Another excellent source for Mexican history is The Life and Times of Mexico, by Earl Shorris.  You'll find that book available to order through Amazon.com, on the left-hand side of this page.

Jalisco town kiosko (bandstand) decorated for the Fiestas Patrias.

For years I've attended the September 15 celebrations in a variety of towns and cities.  In Mexico City, the country's president leads hundreds of thousands of citizens in late-night celebrations in the zócalo, the enormous square surrounded by government buildings and the Metropolitan Cathedral.  Every Mexican town big enough to have a mayor holds a reenactment of the Grito de Dolores, Hidalgo's cry for independence.  The town square is decorated with flags, bunting, and ribbons.  Cohetes (sky rockets) flare and bang.  Sometime around eleven o'clock at night, the folks, assembled in the town plaza since nine or so, are restless for the celebration to begin.  The mayor's secretary peeks out from the doorway of the government offices, the folkloric dancers file off the stage in the plaza, the band tunes up for the Himno Nacional (the national anthem), the crowd waves its flags and hushes its jostling.  The president or the mayor steps out onto the balcony of the government building or onto the stage built just outside the building's front door to lead the singing of the Himno's emotional verses. 


The bandera monumental (gigantic national flag) and celebratory fireworks in front of Mexico's Palacio Nacional, on the zócalo, Mexico City, September 15, 2015. Photo courtesy press.

Dressed in his finest and backed up by a military or police guard, the mayor clears his throat and loudly begins an Independence Day proclamation.  He pulls a heavy rope to ring the Independence bell, then he waves a huge Mexican flag.  Back and forth, back and forth!  In every Mexican town, the proclamation ends with Hidalgo's 209-year-old exhortations: "Long live religion!  Long live Our Lady of Guadalupe! Long live the Americas and death to the corrupt government!  Long live the heroes of our Independence!  Viva México!  Qué viva!"

Father Hidalgo's 1810 banner, with an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe and the words, "Viva la Santísma de Guadalupe!".  He carried this banner as his standard as a leader in the fight for Mexico's independence from Spain. Photo courtesy Pinterest.

The mayor and the crowd shout as one voice: "Viva México!  Qué viva!  Qué viva!"  The mayor grins and waves as the fireworks begin, bursting huge green, white, and red chrysanthemums over the heads of the attendees.

Later there will be dancing and more music, and food, including traditional pozole, tostadas, mezcal, tequila and beer, and, in larger towns and cities, all-night revelry in the plaza, in private homes, and in hotels, restaurants, and events halls.

The best-kept secret in Mexico is the Independence Day party.  No, the biggest deal is not on September 16th.  Held every year on the night of September 15, the Gran Noche Mexicana (the Great Mexican Night), the real celebration of the revolutionary events in 1810, is a combination of New Year's Eve, your birthday, and your country's independence festivities. 

Wouldn't you really rather hear about the party?  I knew you would!

A number of years ago my friend, música ranchera singer Lupita Jiménez from Guadalajara, invited me to a Gran Noche Mexicana where she was performing.  The event was scheduled to start at 9:30, but Mexican custom normally dictates late arrival.  By ten o'clock I was on my way to the party.  At the salón de eventos (events hall), the parking lot was already full, but a man was parking cars on the street just a block away.  As I left my car, he said, "Could you pay me now for watching your car?  It's 20 pesos.  I'll be leaving a little early, probably before the event is over." 

"How long will you be here?" I asked, a bit anxious about leaving the car unattended on this night of prodigious revelry.

Lupita Jiménez in performance at a Gran Noche Mexicana in Guadalajara.

"Till six o'clock."  My jaw dropped and I handed him the 20 pesos.  Six in the morning!  Surely we wouldn't party quite so long as that! 

The sad truth is that I didn't.  I couldn't.  My stamina flagged at about 3:00 AM, after dinner had been served at 10:30, a city politician had proclaimed the Grito, the Himno Nacional (national anthem) had been sung, and big noisy fireworks had been set off on the indoor stage (I swear to you, indoors) of the salón de eventos.  Then the show started, a brief recapitulation in song and dance of Mexican history, starting with concheros (loincloth-and-feather-clad Aztec dancers) whirling around a fire-belching volcano, and ending with the glorious jarabe tapatía, the regional dance of Guadalajara that most English-speakers call the Mexican hat dance.


Danzante conchero (concha dancer).  The dancers are called concheros because the lead dancer blows a conch (a large mollusk shell) to call spirits to the dance.  Photo courtesy Dreamstime.com.

After innumerable trios, duets, and solo singers, the show paused for intermission at close to two in the morning.  Several of my table-mates slipped away, but I thought I could make it to the end.  The first half of the Gran Noche Mexicana had been invigorating and exciting and I loved it.  During intermission, a wonderful Mexican comedian poked fun at politics, functionaries, and Mexican life in general.  We were all roaring with laughter.  When the comic left the stage, I realized that I was exhausted and needed to go home to bed.  Just as the performers stepped onto the stage to begin the next round of song, I sneaked away. 

When I called Lupita the next afternoon to congratulate her on the success of the event, she asked if I'd stayed for the last few costume changes.  "Mija, I had to go home early.  I lasted till three, but then I just couldn't stay awake.  I'm so sorry I missed the end." 

Lupita laughed.  "I'm glad you lasted that long, but next time you have to stay for the whole night!  You missed the best part!"

The Palacio Nacional (national office building complex, including the president's offices) on the Zócalo (Plaza de la Constitución) in Mexico City, all dressed up for the Fiestas Patrias.

Viva México!  Qué viva!

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Popocatépetl :: The History of a Living Volcano :: La Historia de un Volcán Que Vive

This article was originally published in 2013.  Popocatépetl continues its periodic episodes of high activity.  One of these days, we'll be able to go once again to see what the volcano is doing!


The active volcano Popocatépetl is the second-highest mountain in Mexico at 5,452 meters (17,887 feet) above sea level.  Some sources say that Popocatépetl is slightly higher than those quoted figures.  Only the Pico de Orizaba (5,610 meters or 18,406 feet) is higher.  All photos by Mexico Cooks! unless otherwise noted.

During the last week or so, Mexico City's newspapers have been full of information about Popocatépetl, the Náhuatl word for 'smoking mountain'.  This volcano, which sits in the very back yard of the city, has once again been growling and grumbling and belching gases, steam, smoke, and red-hot ash.  Its last major eruption was in December of 2000 and everyone in this vicinity hopes the mountain won't explode again.


Popocatépetl, 1953.  Taken as a young man by my good friend Roger Hagan, this magnificent photograph lets us see how both the shape of the mountain and its cap of snow have changed during the last 60 years.  The photograph appears in Roger Hagan's remarkable book, Mexico 1953.  Photo courtesy Roger Hagan. 

In mid-April of 2012, curiousity and excitement about Popocatépetl's current activities led us to make a Sunday afternoon trip to Amecameca in the State of Mexico, the town closest to the volcano from our Mexico City neighborhood.  The town is southeast of Mexico City and we were there in a bit over an hour.  Had we not stopped along the way to take photographs, we could have arrived sooner.

The alert system for possible eruptions ranges from green (no danger) to red (extreme eruption).  Currently, Popocatépetl has been at Alert Phase 3 Yellow (magma flow and growing explosions) for about three weeks.  Phase 3 Yellow is the alert just before red.  In spite of the high alert level, no evacuations from towns around the volcano have been ordered.  Click the link for updates to the 'semáforo de alertas' (alert system stoplight): ALERTAS

Iztaccíhautl, the sleeping woman, lies northeast of Popocatépetl and east of the town of Amecameca in the State of Mexico.  Mexico Cooks! took this photo from the atrium of the Templo de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción (Church of Our Lady of the Assumption) in Amecameca; you can see one of the church arches in the foreground.  The photo shows Iztaccíhuatl's head (far left) and chest.

Full view of volcano Iztaccíhuatl.  Her head is at the far left in the photo.  The clouds are in fact due to the accumulation of steam and ash emitted by Popocatépetl, just out of camera range to the right.  The northwestern sky (behind me as I took the picture) was clear blue and brilliantly sunny.

Of course there is a romantic legend about Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhautl.  At the beginning of history, when the Aztecs arrived in the Valley of Anáhuac and before the mountains had reached their permanent form, a beautiful princess named Mixtli was born in the city of Tenochtitlán--today's Mexico City.  She was the daughter of Tizoc, the Tlatoani Emperor of the Mexicas (to be known later as the Aztecs).  Mixtli was sought after by numerous noblemen, among them Axooxco, a cruel and bloodthirsty man, who demanded the hand of Mixtli in marriage.  However, Mixtli's heart belonged instead to a humble peasant named Popoca.  Popoca went into battle, to conquer the title of Caballero Aguila (Eagle Knight).  If he claimed this title of nobility, Popoca would then be able to fight Axooxco for the hand of Mixtli.

Popoca carries his beloved Mixtli to the snowy mountains.

Mixtli knew the danger Popoca faced in this trial.  Finally a messenger brought the news that he had been killed in battle.  But the messenger was wrong: Popoca was returning victorious.  Not realizing this, Mixtli killed herself, rather than live without Popoca. 

When Popoca returned to find Mixtli dead, he picked her up and carried her body into the mountains.  Hoping that the cold snow would wake her from sleep to reunite them, Popoca crouched at her feet until he froze there while he prayed for her to awaken.

They have remained there ever since.  The body of Mixtli became the volcano Iztaccíhuatl (the Sleeping Woman), the ever-watchful Popoca became the volcano Popocatépetl (the Smoking Mountain).  The evil Axooxco became the Cerro Ajusco (the highest point of the Distrito Federal).  These volcanoes tower above Mexico City and the romantic legend of this couple has been passed on since the pre-Columbian era as a symbol of enduring and faithful love.

Popocatépetl exhales a huge cloud of steam, gases, and ash on April 18, 2012.  Photo courtesy Notimex.

The volcano is generally known by a local nickname: don Goyo.  Don is an honorific used to address or refer to any respected well-known man; Goyo is a nickname for Gregorio, in this instance specifically referring to San Gregorio (St. Gregory).  Legend says that the volcano once erupted on San Gregorio's March 12 feast day and subsequently received the nickname, but the volcano's feast day (yes, he has one!) is celebrated annually on May 2.  On that date, some local residents carry gifts to the volcano: blankets and una copita (a shot of liquor) to keep him warm, and they pay him their continuing respects.  As the white-haired toll booth attendant said when we told him we were on our way to pay a visit to don Goyo, "Be careful up there!  He's making all this racket while he's sober--imagine if he had already had his tequila!"

The volcano on the night of April 24, 2012.  Streams of molten lava flow down the sides of the crater while fire, steam, smoke, and sparks rise high into the evening sky.  The volcano is so loud that some residents find it hard to get a good night's sleep.  Photo courtesy MSNBC.

During volcanic activity of this kind, the world keeps turning.  Residents in the several towns nearest the volcano go about their normal daily lives while keeping one eye on the top of the mountain and one ear out for the latest alerts.  In Amecameca, a delightful gentleman stopped his bicycle to chat with us on the street while we were letting a local woman take a close look at the volcano through the camera's telephoto lens.  "You know," he ruminated, "we still have to shop, cook, eat, and sleep even though we also have to be prepared for..." he laughed and threw his arms high into the air.  "In case it blows!" 

Life goes on: the sign reads in English, Meat Market 'The Golden Rose'.  Inside the municipal market in Amecameca, people shop for food, gossip with their neighbors, and laugh at the latest jokes.  Click on any photo to enlarge it for a better view.

Our new guide  continued, "You should go outside town for a better view.  It's easy to get there..."  He proceeded to give excellent directions for heading to the east into the foothills at the base of the volcano.  We shook his hand and followed his directions as far as we could, but the rutted, stone-filled path we were driving outside Amecameca was too difficult for our vehicle.  We turned onto another, even smaller road that took us to the crest of a hill.  From there, we had an unobstructed view of the two lovers, Iztaccíhautl and Popocatépetl.  While the wind blew from behind us, we watched as don Goyo sighed several times, sending heavy plumes of steam and ash into the heavens and away from Amecameca. 

As the volcano steams and roars, commerce continues as it has for thousands of years.  Amecameca has a huge Sunday market in the church atrium outside Templo de Nuestra Señora de la Asunciòn.  The peaches, bright-green oval chilacayotes, and round calabacitas (zucchini-type squash) are offered for sale piled up in pyramids, the traditional vendors' display method.

Will the volcano blast off into a major eruption?  Will it calm down and wait till another time?  No one really knows for sure, not even the scientists who monitor its activity.  On April 25, the winds shifted and small amounts of ash began to rain down on Amecameca and some of the other nearby towns.  We're watching, along with the rest of the populace.  And meantime, our lives go on as usual.

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The Sanctuary of Jesus the Nazarene :: El Santuario de Jesús el Nazareno in Atotonilco, Guanajuato

The facade of the mid-18th Century Jesuit church in Atotonilco is simple.  The interior of the church is astonishing.  Built between 1740 and 1776, the Santuario is still visited and revered by religious pilgrims.

Several years ago, while Mexico Cooks! visited San Miguel de Allende, we took advantage of some free time to go to Atotonilco to visit the Santuario de Jesús el Nazareno (Sanctuary of Jesus the Nazarene), one of the best-kept secrets of central Mexico.  In 1996, the church was added to the World Monuments Fund, and in July of 2008, UNESCO named the Santuario to its list of World Heritage sites.

The main altar in the Calvary Chapel, the largest in the church.  Sculptural figures important to Christ's Passion give visual impact to the  meditations of the faithful. A reliquary rests on the red cloth.

The Santuario is a mixture of European Baroque and New World Mexican decoration.  It consists of a large church, and several smaller chapels, all decorated with oil paintings by Rodríguez Juárez and mural paintings by Miguel Antonio Martínez de Pocasangre.  Inspired by the doctrine of San Ignacio de Loyola, the founder of the Companía de Jesús (the Company of Jesus, otherwise known as the Jesuits), the glowing paintings and murals in the church served in the evangelization of Nueva España, where the indigenous spoke their own languages but could neither read nor write, and where the Spanish conquistadores knew little if any of the languages they heard in the new land. 

St. John the Baptist pours baptismal waters over Jesus as a dove, symbol of the Holy Spirt, hovers above them.  In the 18th Century, the Santuario also served as a retreat house for the Jesuits.  Pilgrims still make week-long retreats at this church, praying in a chapel reserved just for their needs.

Judas Iscariot betrays Jesus with a kiss.  Note the demon monkey on Judas's back.  Every inch of the Santuario walls is covered with paintings of the many details, Biblical and apocryphal, of Jesus's life.  Nearly all (or perhaps all--stories vary) of the murals  were painted by Miguel Antonio Martínez de Pocasangre, a native of the area.  He worked for thirty years painting the murals.

St. Cristopher carries the infant Jesus on his shoulder.  Captain Ignacio Allende, for whom San Miguel de Allende is named, married María de la Luz Agustina y Fuentes in this church.  It was here, on September 16, 1810, that Father Miguel Hidalgo took up the standard of Our Lady of Guadalupe and bore it into battle at the beginning of the Mexican War of Independence from Spain.

This side chapel, one of several at Atotonilco, is dedicated to Nuestra Señora del Rosario (Our Lady of the Rosary).  The mirrors that surround the figure of Our Lady are painted with oils, probably by Rodríguez Juárez.

Detail of the chapel window.

Detail of the Marian litany in the Lady Chapel.

The Santuario has been in the process of restoration since 1997.  Scaffolding still fills the church but detracts very little from the amazing paintings.

Off the beaten tourist track, the Santuario de Jesús el Nazareno will fill your eyes and heart with wonder.  Let's plan a visit to see it together.

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Come Tour with Mexico Cooks!--Off the Tourist Track, Off the Beaten Path

A November market tour in Pátzcuaro, Michoacán. I'm holding a mamey fruit.  The mamey's scientific name is poutería sapote.

One of the great pleasures of my life is the number of tours Mexico Cooks! gives to lots of excited tourists.  Small, specialized tours are a joy to organize: the participants generally have common interests, a thirst for knowledge, and a hunger for--well, for Mexico Cooks!' tour specialty: food and its preparation.  Touring a food destination (a street market in Michoacán, an enclosed market in Guadalajara, a crawl through some Mexico City street stands, or meals in a series of upscale restaurants) is about far more than a brief look at a fruit, a vegetable, or a basket of freshly made tortillas.

A Pátzcuaro street vendor holds out a partially unwrapped tamal de trigo (wheat tamal).  It's sweetened with piloncillo (Mexican raw sugar) and a few plump raisins, wrapped in corn husks, and steamed.  Taste?  It's all but identical to a bran muffin, and every tour participant enjoyed a share of it.

A tour planned to your specifications can lead you to places you didn't know you wanted to go, but that you would not have missed for the world.  Here, Donna talks with the man who makes these enormous adobe bricks.  He let her try to pick up the laden wheelbarrow.  She could barely get its legs off the ground!  He laughed, raised the handles, and whizzed away with his load.

Several times in recent years, small groups wanted to tour traditional bakeries in Mexico City.  The photo shows one tiny corner of the enormous Pastelería La Ideal in the Centro Histórico.  Just looking at the photo brings the sweet fragrances back to mind.  And never mind the taste of the delicious pastries--wonderful!

Ramon and Annabelle Canova wanted an introduction to how ordinary people live and shop in Guadalajara.  We spent a highly entertaining morning at the Tianguis del Sol, a three-times-a-week outdoor market in Zapopan, a suburb of Guadalajara.  Our first stop was for breakfast, then we shopped for unusual produce, fresh spices, and other goodies that the Canovas don't often see in their home town.  Annabelle said she felt right at home because so much of the style and flavor of this market was similar to what she experienced in the markets near her home town in the Phillipines.

We went for comida (main meal of the day) to the original location of Guadalajara's Karne Garibaldi.  The restaurant does one thing--carne en su jugo (meat in its juice)--and does it exceptionally well.  The food is plentiful, delicious, and affordable.  The place is always packed, and usually has a line to get in!

Ramon wanted to try tejuino, a regional specialty in the Guadalajara area.  Mixed when you order it, the refreshing, very lightly fermented drink is thickened with masa de maíz (corn dough) and served with a pinch of salt and a small scoop of lemon ice. 

Pillars of nopal cactus paddles, taller than a man, at Mercado de la Merced, Mexico City.   La Merced is the largest retail market in Mexico, if not in all of Latin America.  It's the ultimate market experience and just a partial tour takes the best part of a morning.  Comfortable walking shoes are a necessity--let's go!

A more intimate, up-close-and-personal Mexico City market tour takes us through the Mercado San Juan.  The San Juan is renowned for its gourmet selection of meats, fish and shellfish, cheeses, and wild mushrooms--among a million other things you might not expect to find.

Pepitorias are a sweet specialty of Mexico's capital city.  Crunchy and colorful obleas (wafers) enclose sticky syrup and squash seeds.  Mexico Cooks!' tour groups usually try these at the Bazar Sábado in San Ángel.

Lovely and fascinating people and events are around almost any Mexican corner.  The annual Festival Internacional de Música de Morelia opens every year with several blocks of carpets made of flowers.  Residents of Patamban, Michoacán work all night to create the carpets for the festival.  This piano is made entirely of plant material.  Enlarge any picture for a closer view.

Entire flowers, fuzzy pods, and flower petals are used to create the carpets' ephemeral beauty and design; these carpets last two days at most. 

In November 2012, one of Mexico Cooks!' tours was dazzled by a special Morelia concert given by Tania Libertad.  With Tania is Rosalba Morales Bartolo, a fabulous traditional cook from San Jerónimo, Michoacán, who presented the artist with various handcrafted items from the state--including the lovely coral necklace and rebozo (long rectangular shawl) that Tania is wearing.


During a food tour in Oaxaca, Mexico Cooks! took this couple for breakfast with a marvelous regional cook.  We're standing in the doorway of her traditional kitchen--where she both prepares food and gives cooking classes.  We had a great day.

No matter where we start our tour and no matter what we plan together for your itinerary, a Mexico Cooks! tour always includes a terrific surprise or two, special memories to take home, and the thirst for more of Mexico.  Marvey Chapman had a wonderful time out on Lake Pátzcuaro!  By all means come and enjoy a tour!

Looking for a tailored-to-your-interests specialized tour in Mexico? Click here: Tours.

Where Mexico Cooks! Shops for Fresh Food to Prepare at Home: Mexico's Tianguis (Street Markets)

Roma tomatoes are the type we most often see at a tianguis (street market) or at an enclosed market, or in a supermarket.  Heirloom tomatoes--even standard, everyday round tomatoes--are very hard to find here.  When I buy Roma tomatoes, I am fortunate to be able to find them fully ripe and really delicious.

Thirteen years ago, in August 2007, Mexico Cooks! featured every sort of produce, dairy product, and meat sold at a local tianguis (street market) near Guadalajara, Jalisco.  For the entire month of August 2008, you read about seasonal availability of fruits and vegetables at the dozens of regularly scheduled tianguis (it's the same word in singular and plural) in Morelia, Michoacán.  Mexico Cooks! would rather shop at a hot, crowded, and sometimes smelly tianguis than at an air conditioned supermarket, rather shop for supremely fresh foods at a tianguis than give a second glance to anything frozen, boxed, or canned that's offered for sale elsewhere.

A sign maker with a sense of humor stuck this tag on his fresh Roma tomatoes: "Like you saw it on TV".  Several years ago, these were offered at 14 pesos the kilo (about 45 cents US the pound).  Next to the tomatoes, you can see the pointed ends of chiles serrano.  Today, Roma tomatoes sell for about 30-35 pesos per kilo.

The tianguis, wherever in Mexico it's held, is a basic part of the culture of modern Mexico.   Its name comes from the Náuhatl word tianquiztli, market.  Although Náhuatl markets are centuries old, the present-day form of the tianguis is fairly recent, originating during the 1970-76 Mexican presidency of Luis Echeverría Alvarez.  The author of the tianguis project in Mexico was José Iturriaga, Echeverría's former finance minister.

Cooked in a sweet syrup, whole calabaza de castilla (squash, left), camote (candied sweet potato, right), and higos (figs, rear) are available at the tianguis by the kilo or portion of a kilo.  They're to be eaten for breakfast or supper.

Although Iturriaga was himself a wealthy, educated, and cultured man, he worried about the ability of Mexico's poor to feed their families.  He was especially concerned about the availability of nutritious fresh foods sold at reasonable prices.  The tianguis, otherwise known as a mercado sobre ruedas (market on wheels), was his idea.  The government took charge of giving Mexico's working-class housewives and other food shoppers stupendous quality at the lowest possible prices.

Beautiful cebollitas de cambray (knob onions), ready for serving with carne asada (grilled meat, usually accompanied by grilled whole onions like these.  They sell for about 12 pesos per kilo.

Still operated by local government, today's tianguis only sometimes reach Iturriaga's ideal.  Often the produce can be second-rate, the meats and seafood far less than fresh, and the market's hygiene questionable--while prices are often as high or higher than the días de plaza (sale days) in upscale supermarkets.

Higos--figs, at the peak of maturity and ripeness--enjoy a relatively long season here in Mexico.  We recently paid 100 pesos for two kilos of beautifully ripe figs and prepared half a dozen jars of you-don't-want-to-know-how-good fig conserve.  Later this winter, spread on a toasted and buttered bolillo (small loaf of fresh-baked bread) from our corner abarrotes (tiny mom'n'pop grocery store), served over ice cream, or simply licked off the finger, the conserve will be an intense memory of summer.

Mexico Cooks! is a regular customer at one of the better tianguis in Morelia.  Our tianguis, set up early Wednesday mornings, is quite near our house.  Our normal purchases include seafood, excellent pork ranging from maciza (fresh pork leg) to tocino (bacon), marvelously fresh chicken (whole or whichever part you want), all of our fruits and vegetables, cheeses and table cream, dried beans, grains, and flowers for the house.  We don't eat much beef, but if we did, we'd buy it at the tianguis.

Tiny plátanos dominico (finger bananas, about 2.5 inches long) are just one of the banana varieties we usually see at the tianguis.  These sell today for about 37 pesos a kilo.  


Small ataúlfo mangos, my personal favorites.  Thirty pesos per kilo.

Prices at the Wednesday tianguis in our neighborhood, while not substantially lower than those at the supermarket, are still not higher than we care to pay.  We usually budget about 900 pesos (about $40.00 USD) to buy what we need at the tianguis for a week's meals, including pork and sometimes shrimp.  We budget another 400 pesos for purchases at the supermarket. 


Gorgeous deep red watermelons, sold by the kilo: buy as much as you like--a slice, a whole melon, whatever you need.  Twelve pesos per kilo at the tianguis!

On a recent Wednesday morning, these were our purchases:

6 large fresh white onions, 20 pesos per kilo
1 huge cantaloupe, 17 pesos per kilo 
4 ataúlfo mangos, 30 pesos per kilo 
6 red-ripe Roma tomatoes, 35 pesos per kilo
500 gr white mushrooms, 58 pesos
1/2 large white cabbage, 10 pesos
8 Gala apples, 45 pesos per kilo
1 large avocado, 60 pesos per kilo
2 large bananas, 17 pesos per kilo 
1 large papaya, 30 pesos per kilo
1 lb fresh green beans, 37 pesos per kilo
1 large head of broccoli, 28 pesos per kilo
8 ounces crema de mesa (table cream, similar to crême fraiche), about 20 pesos total
1 whole chicken, 39 pesos per kilo
250 gr cut to order bacon, 200 pesos per kilo
Total cost: 400 pesos--the equivalent of less than $25.00 USD.

The Mexican peso/USA dollar exchange rate is currently the approximately 22 pesos per dollar.  

These are the fruit of the nopal cactus, known as tunas. (The red thing to the left is a fresa (strawberry), placed for size comparison.)  Tunas are in season right now; I buy them frequently at this time of year to make agua fresca de tuna ('fresh water' made of tunas).  


Tunas are super-easy to peel--cut off each end, make a longitudinal slit in the peel, and pull the skin off.  That's it.  Eat them out of hand, slice them on a plate, or make agua fresca.  They're refreshing and delicious.

Times and needs change.  Urban Mexico views the tianguis as both a terrible bother (who would want one on their street, with its attendant noise and mess) and a joy (but where else can we get produce this fresh!).  Mexico Cooks! knows people who will not shop at a tianguis, and we know people who will not shop anywhere else.  Come with us some week and see what you think.

Looking for a tailored-to-your-interests specialized tour in Mexico? Click here: Tours.

One More Report About Chiles en Nogada, a Fleeting, Seasonal Joy of Mexico's Kitchen

Azul Histórico, a star of the constellation of three restaurants that make up Ricardo Muñoz Zurita's Grupo Azul, has become one of Mexico Cooks!' favorite destinations for comida (Mexico's midday main meal).  Nestled under a canopy of trees in the patio of a 17th century Mexican palace, the restaurant is among the most beautiful--and most delicious--in Mexico's capital city.

One year, we insisted that a good friend visiting from Texas accompany us to experience the once-a-year delight of chiles en nogada, stuffed with a special picadillo (meat, fruit, and vegetable hash) and then bathed with walnut sauce, as presented and served at Restaurante Azul Histórico.  In last week's Mexico Cooks! article, we shared a terrific recipe for chiles en nogada with you. Today, we'll see the chiles, considered to be the king of Mexico's cuisine, and honored as such at table in the restaurant.


Our friend, who serves sopa de tortilla (tortilla soup) in his own restaurant, wanted to try the version served at Azul Histórico.


Four of us shared a small order of mildly spicy, delicious salpicón de venado (venison, cooked, seasoned with onion, pepper, vinegar, oil, and salt, and shredded).


Once we finished our appetizers, two of our extremely competent wait staff laid the table with a long black linen tablecloth, plus colorful appliquéd individual placemats and extra candles, all in honor of the king of chiles. The plates, also in special use for chiles en nogada, are talavera pottery from the city of Puebla, where chiles en nogada originated.


The serving platter of chiles.  Each color ribbon indicates the type stuffing in each chile.  The choices the day we were there included:

• red ribbons from Atlixco, Puebla.  The filling is composed of a complex picadillo with quite a lot of fruit. 
• green ribbons from Coxcatlán, Puebla.  The filling is shredded pork, with more spices and less fruit than the first.
• silver ribbons from Puebla de los Ángeles, Puebla.  The filling is beef with fruits and spices, for those who prefer not to eat pork.

I chose the chile from Atlixco, Puebla.  At the Azul restaurants and at most others, the chile is roasted, peeled, and seeded prior to stuffing, but is not coated with a stiffly beaten egg coating. The significance of the colors of the chile en nogada is the vision of the Mexican flag on your plate: green, white, and red. Were it coated and fried, the green would not be visible. The chile's red ribbon (and yellow flower) are removable.  The blue and white sphere with the red ribbon are part of the table decor that honors the chile.

 
Once the chile is on your plate, the waiter serves the nogada (walnut sauce). At the Azul restaurants, the diner may choose savory or sweet nogada, or a combination of the two.  I chose the combination. The waiter poured the thicker nogada salada (savory) onto the half of the chile near the tip; he then poured smooth nogada dulce (sweet) onto the half closer to the stem.  In the photo, you can easily see the dividing line between the two nogadas.


At Azul Histórico, the chiles en nogada are served without being capeados (covered with the egg batter that traditionally coats the chiles in Puebla).  Many prefer them with the fried-batter coating; I prefer them without.  After the waiter bathes the chile with its walnut sauce(s), he garnishes it with seasonal pomegranate seeds and then with a sprig of parsley. Voilà, presenting Su Majestad el Chile en Nogada!


You can see the rich filling inside the chile.  Last week's Mexico Cooks! article gives you an excellent recipe to make your own chiles en nogada.  If you try it, please let us know how delicious it was!

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Seasonal Chiles en Nogada, Available NOW Through September In Mexico's Homes and Restaurants

Beautifully home-prepared chiles en nogada, as presented several years ago at a traditional food exhibition in Pátzcuaro, Michoacán.

Freshly harvested and peeled nuez de castilla (a kind of walnut grown in Mexico), an essential for seasonal chiles en nogada.  

Mexico celebrates its independence the entire month of September with parades, parties, and traditional food and drink, served in restaurants and at home.  The traditional festive dish during the weeks just before and after the Independence Day holiday is chiles en nogada, a magnificent tribute to the seasonal availability of a certain kind of peach, the locally grown panochera apple, in-season granadas (pomegranates) and nuez de castilla (freshly harvested walnuts). From mid-July until the end of September (or occasionally early October), seasonal local fruits, fresh pomegranates, and newly harvested walnuts make chiles en nogada possible.  Mildly spicy chiles poblano, stuffed with a fruity picadillo and topped with richly creamy walnut sauce, pomegranate seeds, and chopped parsley, flaunt the brilliant green, white and red of the Mexican flag. 


The panochera apple, grown in the Mexican state of Puebla, and pera lechera (milky pear), also grown in the area, are two must-have ingredients for making chiles en nogada in Mexico.  If you live outside Mexico, a small crisp apple and a very crisp pear (preferably Bosque or a distant second choice, d'Anjou) would substitute.

This festive dish is traditionally served on September 15 or 16 in honor of Mexico's Independence Day, though it is popular anytime in the late summer and fall. During August and September in the highlands of Mexico, particularly in Mexico City and Puebla, vendors wander tianguis (street markets) and other markets, selling the clean, white meats of nuez de castilla. It is important to use the freshest walnuts possible, as they produce such a creamy, rich sauce that it is worth the effort to buy them peeled or peel them oneself.  Yes, the recipe is time-consuming...but you and your guests will jump up and shout "VIVA!" when they've licked the platters clean. 

Ingredients

For the meat:  

• 2 pounds beef brisket or other stew meat or 1 pound beef and 1 pound pork butt**
• 1 small white onion, quartered 
• 2 large cloves garlic 
• about 1 Tbsp sea salt

 For the picadillo (filling):  

• 4 Tbsp safflower or canola oil
• the shredded meat
• 1/3 cup chopped white onion
• 3 large cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon 
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• pinch pimienta gorda (allspice)
• 1/2 plátano macho (plantain), chopped fine
• 1 or 2 chiles serrano, finely minced
• 4 Tbsp chopped fresh walnuts--this year's harvest, if you can find some at your local market
• 4 Tbsp slivered blanched almonds
• 2 Tbsp finely diced biznaga or acitrón (candied cactus, optional)
• 1 fresh pear, peeled and chopped
• 1 apple, peeled and chopped
• 4 ripe peaches, peeled and diced
• 3 Tbsp Mexican pink pine nuts.  Don't substitute white ones if you aren't able to find pink.  White pine nuts have a bitter aftertaste.
• 3 large, ripe tomatoes, roasted, peeled and chopped
• sea salt to taste

Fully mature chiles poblano, picked fresh and sold on the street in Tehuacán, Puebla. 


Deep green chiles poblano are normally used for chiles en nogada.  These measure as much as seven or eight inches long. If you click on the photo to make it larger, you can see that these chiles have deep, long grooves running down their sides. When I'm buying them, I choose chiles poblano that are as smooth as possible on their flat sides.  The smoothness makes them easier to roast easily.  

For the chiles:

--6 fresh chiles poblanos, roasted, peeled, slit open, and seeded, leaving the stem intact   

 For the nogada (walnut sauce):  

• 1 cup freshly harvested nuez de castilla (walnuts), peeled of all brown membrane** 
• 6 ounces queso de cabra (goat cheese), queso doble crema or standard cream cheese (not fat free) at room temperature 
• 1-1/2 cups crema mexicana or 1-1/4 cups sour cream thinned with milk 
• about 1/2 tsp sea salt or to taste
• 1 Tbsp sugar   
• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon 
• 1/4 cup dry sherry (optional)

**Please note that this recipe is correctly made with walnuts, not pecans.  Using pecans will give your sauce a non-traditional flavor and a beige color, rather than pure white.

Remove the arils (seeds) from a pomegranate.  We who live in Mexico are fortunate to find pomegranate seeds ready to use, sold in plastic cups.

For the garnish 

--1 Tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
--1/2 cup fresh pomegranate seeds 

Preparation:

Cut the meat into large chunks, removing any excess fat. Place the meat into a large Dutch oven with the onion, garlic, and salt. Cover with cold water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Skim off any foam that collects on the surface. Lower the heat and allow the water to simmer about 45 minutes, until the meat is just tender. Take the pot off the stove and let the meat cool in the broth. Remove the pieces of meat and finely shred them. 


Candied biznaga (aka acitrón) cactus.  Do try to find this ingredient in your local market.  There isn't an adequate substitute, so if you don't find it, leave it out.


Mexican pink pine nuts.  Their taste is sweeter than the standard white ones, and they leave no bitter aftertaste in your dish.  If you can't find these pink pine nuts, it's better not to substitute the white ones.

Warm the oil in a large, heavy skillet and sauté the onion and garlic over medium heat until they turn a pale gold. Stir in the shredded meat and cook for five minutes. Add the cinnamon, pepper, and cloves, then, stir in the raisins and the two tablespoons of chopped walnuts. Add the chopped pear, apple, and finely diced biznaga cactus, and mix well. Add the tomatoes and salt to taste, and continue cooking over medium-high heat until most of the moisture has evaporated. Stir often so that the mixture doesn't stick. Let cool, cover, and set aside. The picadillo may be made and refrigerated a day or two in advance of final preparations.

Roasted chiles poblano, ready to peel, seed, and stuff.  Photo courtesy Delicious Mexican Recipes.

Peel the chiles and make a slit down the side of each chile, just long enough to remove the seeds and veins. Keep the stem end intact. Drain the chiles, cut side down, on paper towels until completely dry. Cover and set aside. The chiles may be prepared a day in advance. 

At least three hours in advance, put the walnuts in a small pan of boiling water. Remove from the heat and let them sit for five minutes. Drain the nuts and, when cool, rub off as much of the dark skin as possible.  Chop the nuts into small pieces. Place the nuts, cream cheese, crema, and salt in a blender and purée thoroughly. Stir in the optional sugar, cinnamon, and sherry until thoroughly combined. Chill for several hours. 

Preheat the oven to 250ºF. When ready to serve, reheat the meat filling and stuff the chiles until they are plump and just barely closed. Put the filled chiles, covered, to warm slightly in the oven. After they are thoroughly heated, place the chiles (cut side down) on a serving platter or on individual plates, cover with the chilled walnut sauce, and sprinkle with the chopped parsley and pomegranate seeds. 


Chile en nogada as served at Restaurante Azul Histórico, Mexico City.


Chile en nogada at Beto Chef Michoacano, Morelia, Michoacán.


Chile en nogada as served at Restaurante Las Quince Letras, Centro Histórico, Oaxaca.

This dish may be served at room temperature, or it may be served slightly chilled. It is rarely if ever served hot. 

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