There used to be this beautiful little hole-in-the-wall restaurant in San Gabriel, California, called Babita. The chef was of Mexican descent and French-trained. His food was both elegant and rich in the tradition of his family. And it was here that I enjoyed my first version of chiles en nogada. Think home-grown poblano chiles, charred and split, filled with succulent ground pork, onions, apples, raisins, pears, jalapeños, carrots, and tomatoes. There might even have been olives. Sweet, salty, spicy meat topped with a luxurious walnut sauce—which gives the dish its nogada name—dotted with pomegranate arils and chopped fresh cilantro. It was so good—and definitely worth the 15 years I’ve spent trying to replicate it at home.
This version uses shredded braised pork instead of ground pork and replaces the poblanos with either a baked sweet potato or flour tortillas, so it’s definitely not traditional. But like the recipe that inspires it, this version celebrates the local harvest and delivers up a beautifully balanced complex dish that can easily feed a crowd. It also makes for delicious leftovers.
SERVES 10–12
4-pound pork roast
1 tablespoon garlic salt
4 ounces pineapple juice
¾ cup walnuts
1¼ cups coconut milk
½ cup queso fresco
1–2 tablespoons olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 medium red pepper, chopped
1–2 jalapeños or serrano peppers, finely chopped
3–4 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
1½ teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 (14.5-ounce) cans fire-roasted tomatoes, including juice
1 crisp apple, diced (Cosmic or Honeycrisp)
⅓ cup golden raisins
¼ cup capers, drained
5–6 medium baked sweet potatoes (optional)
Street-taco-sized flour tortillas (optional)
Pomegranate arils (optional)
Cilantro (optional)
Preheat oven to 300°F. Heat a 6-quart Dutch oven on the stovetop over medium-high heat. Pat the pork roast dry and then liberally season with garlic salt. When the Dutch oven is hot, sear at least two sides of the roast, pour pineapple juice around the sides, cover the pot, and put in the preheated oven. Braise the pork for 3–4 hours, until it shreds easily with a fork.*
For the nogada (walnut) sauce, soak walnuts in water for 4–6 hours before using. Rinse and pat dry, making an effort to rub off as much of the bitter skin as possible. Combine nuts, coconut milk, and queso fresco in a high-powered blender or food processor and pulse until the mixture is nearly smooth.
Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add 1–2 tablespoons of olive oil and sauté onion, carrots, red pepper, and jalapeño until the onion is translucent. Add garlic, chili powder, onion powder, cumin, and sea salt and stir until well combined and the garlic is aromatic. Add the fire-roasted tomatoes, apple, raisins, and capers. Let come to a boil, reduce the heat, and let simmer until the liquid begins to thicken.
Combine the simmering sauce with the braised pork. This can either be in the large sauté pan or in the Dutch oven in which the pork was cooked. Cook on low-medium heat for at least 30 minutes, until the pork has absorbed the flavor of the sauce.
Serve over a hot baked sweet potato or in warm flour tortillas, topped with the nogada sauce, a sprinkle of pomegranate arils, and chopped fresh cilantro to taste.
*This can also be done in a slow cooker. Simply pat the roast dry, season with garlic salt, place in the basin of the cooker, pour pineapple juice around the sides (not on top as it will remove the garlic salt), and cook on low for 6–8 hours. Pork can be braised up to 1 day in advance and stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
KITCHENWARE AVAILABLE AT LA CUISINE
Smithey Ironware No. 12 Dual-Handle Cast-Iron Skillet and Suede Potholder in Gold Vietri Forma 3-Piece Place Setting in Cloud | Sabre Paris Icône Serving Set and Pie Slicer in Nature Horn Geometry Woodland Wildflowers Tea Towel | JBrody Walnut Wooden Tongs
