Celebrate with Chiles en Nogada, the dish of Mexican Independence Day

Mexican Independence Day is on Monday 16 September 2013

Marco Cuervo, chef at Lupita East, and supporter of authentic food supplier mexgrocer.co.uk, shares with us his family recipe of Chiles en Nogada, the dish to eat for Mexican Independence Day celebrations.

Celebrations in Mexico and the UK replicate the moment when the priest rang the church bells and called all Mexicans to rebel against the Spanish invader, this marks the beginning of the war for Mexican independence.  A typical party would include a Mariachi band, fireworks, traditional dance and of course a special menu and loads of tequila.

Katya Torres De la Rocha, CEO of mexgrocer.co.uk, shares with us the importance of food on Mexican Independence Day: “Mexican Independence Day, also known as, “El Grito” is a time for celebration! One of the main components of these celebrations is food, and lots of it. Chiles en Nogada symbolises the Mexican flag and the dish is bursting with flavour and colours, I am delighted that Marco Cuervo is sharing his recipe with us!”

Mexgrocer.co.uk supplies authentic Mexican food around the UK. If you want to celebrate in style and with the best quality ingredients shipped directly from Mexico, mexgrocer.co.uk is the only place for you to buy your ingredients from.

Mexgrocer.co.uk is selling Mexican Independence Day Hampers which include 16 products, ranging from Salsa Bufalo to a range of dried chillies, perfect for fiestas! You can view the hamper here: www.mexgrocer.co.uk/mexican-independence-day.html

Chiles en Nogada is a unique dish consisting of green chillies, white walnut sauce and red pomegranate, the ingredients in the dish signifies the colours of the Mexican flag. Marco Cuervo’s recipe is broken down into four sections, perfect for a complete Mexican cook beginner: how to clean the Poblano chilli, how to prepare the Nogada Sauce, how to prepare the filling and lastly how to present the Chiles en Nogada. You need to start preparing the Nogada sauce 12 hours in advance. 

Marco Cuervo’s family recipe for Chiles en Nogada

Feeds: 6
Preparation time: 2 hours

Ingredients

6 Large size Poblano Chillies clean and seedless (in a tin they are ready to use)

4 teaspoons of salt

2 teaspoons of Piloncillo shredded  (or raw sugar)

2 tablespoons of apple vinegar

Sprigs of fresh Parsley for garnish

Seeds of 1 pomegranate

To clean the Poblano chilli

Roast lightly over the grill until you get black spots and the skin begins to tear apart. Sprinkle the chillies with salt and place it in a bowl, covering with cling film or a damp cloth allows the steam to help remove the skin. Carefully remove the skin.  Remove the membrane and seeds, make an incision in the middle and soak the chillies in water with salt, raw sugar and vinegar for 20 minutes. Drain the water and place the chilli overa a paper towel to dry.

The chillies are ready to stuff. Keep at room temperature.

Buy San Miguel Poblano whole chillis to skip cleaning the chilli! 

Ingredients for the Nogada Sauce

250g of walnut halves

400ml of milk

500g of crème fraiche

350g of queso fresco ( substitute salted ricotta cheese)

30ml of Port or sweet Sherry

4 tablespoons of sugar

2 pinch of white pepper

1 pinch of salt

To prepare the Nogada Sauce

Place the walnuts in a small bowl and cover with the milk and let soak for 12 hours.

Drain the walnuts, reserving half of the milk; blend and puree with the creme fraiche and the cheese,  adding the milk, port or Sherry, sugar and salt. Refrigerate.

Ingredients for the filling

250g of mince beef

250g mince pork

6 garlic cloves

2  whole cinnamon stick ( 5 cm)

4 tablespoons of chopped parsley

80 ml of cooking oil

200g of diced white onion

500g of peeled and diced plum tomato

2 apples

2 peaches

2 plantain

60g of raisins

60g of blanched, chopped and roasted walnuts

1 tablespoon of sea salt

Fresh ground black pepper

Preparing the filling

Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the chopped onion and garlic and sauté until is transparent.

Add the mince beef and pork and salt previously mixed and cook until is sealed.

Add the diced fruits, raisins, almonds, cinnamon and black pepper; sauté the mix stirring constantly cooking over medium heat for 5 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and chopped parsley and cook for another 5 minutes mixing all ingredients.

Check the seasoning and cook for 10 minutes more until the fruit is cooked and the mixture has thickened. Remove the cinnamon stick and Reserve at room temperature.

Presentation of the Chiles en Nogada

Use a spoon to stuff the chillies with same portions of the meat filling in order to be able to wrap it properly.

Place 1 Chilli per plate, cover with the walnut sauce and sprinkle pomegranate seeds on top.

Garnish with sprigs of parsley around the plate or on top of the chilli.

The Chiles en Nogada can be served at room temperature or chilled and can be stuffed in advance the day before what helps to melt better all flavours and ingredients together.

ENDS

Editor’s Notes:

For more information or images contact redheadPR: 

Emma De Maio on 07921 160 134 or email emma@redheadpr.co.uk

mexgrocer.co.uk Backgrounder

mexgrocer.co.uk is an online supplier of authentic Mexican groceries and ingredients. The company specialises in selling and distributing Mexican food products not generally available in most UK and European supermarkets. Food supplied by mexgrocer.co.uk is imported directly from Mexico and shipped in the company’s own containers. At its warehouse just north of London, customer orders are turned around in just 24 hours.

The company was founded in 2006. Sol Flamberg and his wife, Monica Anaya Garcia, saw a gap in the market for bona fide Mexican ingredients. After three years, Sol handed the reins of mexgrocer.co.uk to Katya Torres De La Rocha, who has steered the company to its current success.

Katya previously ran a consultancy company and a restaurant in Mexico. Soon after leaving Mexico she started restaurants in London and Madrid. Katya understands that Mexican restaurants in the UK and Europe thrive on using genuine authentic Mexican ingredients and products.

Since taking over mexgrocer.co.uk, Katya has successfully developed the company’s profile and has built a loyal and growing customer base. As the business has grown she has been able to invest in new product lines and a new warehouse and distribution centre.

mexgrocer.co.uk, based in Luton, sells over 400 different products, ranging from generic Mexican-brand flour tortillas to INES Aceite de Aguacate Avocado oil. Other products supplied by mexgrocer.co.uk include:

• Jose Cuervo Margarita Mix
• Fresh Tamales
• Poco Loco Nacho Cheese Sauce
• Oaxaca Cheese
• Habanero Chili Sauce

mexgrocer.co.uk publishes traditional Mexican recipes on its website to inspire customers get the very best from the ingredients they buy. The site also sells authentic Mexican utensils and other kitchen items to help consumers prepare delicious meals. The range of utensils available at mexgrocer.co.uk includes:

• Mexican Wood Molinillo Chocolate Stirrer
• Molcajete (a traditional, Mexican Pestle & Mortar)
• A full range of tortilla warmers

For more information, visit http://www.mexgrocer.co.uk/

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