Why is chile en nogada so important in our culture?

“Those tricolor platters lasted very little time: in the blink of an eye, the chiles disappeared from the trays... How distant was the day when Tita felt like a chile left behind out of decency to not show gluttony,” wrote Laura Esquivel in Like Water for Chocolate. I love this book, but honestly, I can't conceive of a time when chiles en nogada were left forgotten at the bottom of a plate. I don't know about you, but for me, it would be a mortal sin to ignore the five hours it took my grandfather Toyo to peel the walnuts from Castilla, or the gut punch of the three hours it took Doña Mago, my beloved grandmother's helper, to roast, devein, and peel the chiles. Not to mention the other five hours it took my grandmother to prepare the nogada, chop all the ingredients for the picadillo, cook them, and fill each chile. I remember her sitting, carefully taking a ball of picadillo and gently placing it inside a chile. “If you do it with a spoon, they come out skinny,” she would say, a person who forgave everything except for bad eating. In total, it took her thirteen hours to complete the dish: does anyone doubt how worth it it was?The reason why chiles en nogada are so important in Mexican gastronomy has a bit to do with the unverified and well-known story of Agustín de Iturbide, in whose honor the Augustinian nuns of the convent in Puebla of Santa Mónica created the dish, or the writer Artemio de Valle Arizpe with his tale of the three brides, the three soldiers and a dish to welcome them that carried the colors of the tricolor flag. Perhaps the recounting of chiles en nogada and their importance deserves a previous trip. One of conquests and mestizaje combined within a baroque dish of ingredients, techniques, and flavors: minced and spiced meat with its Moorish memories; the chiles, tomato, and acitrón (from the biznaga, now endangered), a legacy from the New World; the walnuts from Castilla and sherry imported from Spain; the spices brought from the East. The importance of chile en nogada could also lead you to the elegant dinners of Porfirio Díaz, with his French tastes and national accents. It is said that the Oaxacan was an admirer of the dish and requested it during his birthday celebrations. No one blames him. Chile en nogada never falls short of the desires of the soul.Gerardo Vázquez Lugo, master and lord of Nicos –the acclaimed restaurant on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list– says that the importance of chile en nogada lies in its ingredients and origin. Each dish that comes out of his kitchen in Azcapotzalco is a map that traces a straight line to the products and producers of Zacatlán, the Tehuacán Valley, or Calpan in the state of Puebla. Even their talavera platters honor the region. For him, chile en nogada is a dish that “doesn't waste, is seasonal, and uses everything available at that moment in a region: panochera apples, poblano chiles, pears, pomegranates.” For chef Gerardo Vázquez Lugo, there is no ONE sacred recipe, that which we would name “The Good One.” Instead, there are countless possibilities that adapt to the times and findings of each family, culminating in a recipe that is inherited with more emotion than a pearl necklace. And that's where its true relevance lies: just like traditional Mexican cuisine declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO –a merit in which he and many other researchers and national cooks played a part– “chile en nogada is ancestral, living, and collective culture of great pride.” Eating a chile en nogada is devouring culture. Preparing it, too. It is a moment of unity, of celebration. It is a kind of Mexican Christmas Eve. For chef Gerardo, “it involves tradition, seasonality, and ingredients.” And even better, “it brings us together around the kitchen. That is the celebration.” In the coming days and until September fifteenth, we will continue discussing the importance of chiles en nogada. We will give you some tips and suggestions on how to make them at home. We will talk about their ingredients and some legends of their preparation, just like chef Gerardo Vázquez Lugo and many other steadfast researchers of Mexican culinary arts. Let the games of chile en nogada begin and may the treadmill catch us prepared.Recipes in nogada to kick off the season:Chile en nogada capeadoChile en nogada sin capear