Chiles en Nogada: The joy of Mexico

Chiles en nogada. Call it the Viagra of authentic Mexican cuisine, a sexy, spicy, irresistible dish. This classic dish, based on poblano chilies, starred in Mexico's most popular book and movie export, Like Water for Chocolate.

The chiles en nogada prepared for that story's climactic wedding scene so overwhelm every guest with waves of heated passion that all, from priest to revolutionary soldier to prudish matron, rush off immediately after eating them to make mad, passionate love - under washtubs, in clothes closets, under stairwells, on the open riverbanks of turn-of-the-century Chihuahua.

Despite its obvious appeal, the dish is so complex that few restaurants even attempt its preparation. To make the dish, a fat poblano chile is roasted and peeled, then stuffed with a mix of ground pork and beef, finely chopped fresh fruits, nuts and spices. Depending on seasonal availability, expect apricots, apples, pears, giant bananas, peaches, raisins, cashews, almonds, pine nuts, and a hint of cumin and white pepper.

The stuffed chiles are then covered with a thick sauce of stone-ground walnuts mixed with sour cream, milk, aged white ranch cheese, sugar, salt and pepper. The taste and consistency is like that of a sweet walnut milkshake. But the varying combinations of contrasting flavors and textures as you take bite after bite are what make this beautiful dish an endless surprise.

The recipe was born shortly after the country gained its independence in 1810, when new president Don Agustin de Iturbide paid a visit to the central Mexican city of Puebla. In preparation, the finest cooks among the wives of local military and political leaders were charged with creating a unique dish in his honor.

Their masterpiece featured poblano chiles, stuffed with the finest meats, nuts and fruits of the region and covered with an exquisite snow-white walnut sauce. Accented with the blood-red seeds of local pomegranates and with perfect sprigs of parsley, the platter bore the proud colors of the Mexican flag.

But, because of the seasonality of ingredients during that era, the instantly popular dish could be served only during August and September.

Lucky us. Not only are there two top Tijuana restaurants that prepare chiles en nogada well, but longer growing seasons and better transportation allow us to enjoy them year-round at one of the restaurants and from August through the end of October at the other. Each restaurant puts its own spin on the traditional recipe, making the sampling even more appealing.

Both restaurants offer ample free parking and accept credit cards. Weekday reservations are generally not needed at La Fonda Roberto's, but they are always a must at Cien Años. Dress can be anything from business attire to well-bred casual -- definitely no shorts.

La Fonda Roberto's
011-52-664-686-4687

One of the most authentic of Tijuana's fine restaurants, Roberto's excels in regional favorites from the present and the past, and chiles en nogada has been a house specialty here for years. Roberto's is also one of the only restaurants in town that serves the dish year-round, which is fortunate because, hands down, these are the best in town.

The sauce is so superb that you can forgive Guadalupe Salazar Cuevas, the owner, for skirting the short (five months) local pomegranate-season problem by substituting chopped maraschino cherries for the bright red accents that should top the dish. After you've checked out the pretty presentation, just push the maraschinos to the side and skip them entirely. Their cloying sweetness competes with the more delicate sweetness of the sauce.

Roberto's filling is tops, too, with a 50-50 mix of ground pork and beef and a perfect balance of ground meats to fruits and nuts, which is traditionally a 70-to-30 blend in central Mexico.
Autumn's chiles are always the largest, and the big poblanos are packed to bulging here. At $9.50 per entree, one Chile entree is more than a full meal when combined with the free chips and spicy dips that come first, plus your choice of soup or salad. Boulevard Cuauhtemoc No. 2800, downtown Tijuana. Open Tuesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.)

Cien Años
011-52-664-634-3039

Leave it to the restaurant that brought alta cocina Mexicana (high Mexican cuisine) to the border area to be so authentic that their chiles en nogada will only be around the end of October. Not only will purist chef Eladio Perez refuse to use anything except fresh pomegranate seeds, he won't use anything but early season, just-picked walnuts. Why? The dish is supposed to be red, white and green, the colors of the Mexican flag, not red, beige and green. Only the meat of the earliest walnuts is pure white. When stored, they become the familiar light brown we all know. Thus, Eladio's chiles en nogada are the most beautiful to behold, but, alas, they're gone in a flash.

Instead of finely ground pork and beef, Cien Años leaves the meat in chunks, as well as the fruits, which are more dominant here. The raisins are the size of cherries, and along with the plump, whole pine nuts, you can identify each bite of fruit, whether peaches, prunes, apples or pears. The overall effect is that of a much sweeter, almost dessert-like dish, rather like a compote packed inside a poblano. But the sauce is surprisingly unsweet, with a hint of picante snap that bites the back of your tongue. At around $16, Cien Años' chiles en nogada are enormous, well-filled and definitely worth a try.

Calle Jose Maria Velazco No. 1407 Zona Rio, Tijuana 011-52-664-634-3039. Open Monday through Wednesday noon to 11:30 p.m., and Sunday noon to 7:30 p.m.

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