It's that time of year again when restaurants throughout the city offer that most wonderful of Mexican dishes..."chiles en nogada". I have written many times on this blog about it, but for those who are not familiar with it, a "chile en nogada" is a poblano pepper stuffed with a mixture of meat, fruit and nuts, covered with a cream walnut sauce, and sprinkled with pomegranate seeds. It is the traditional dish for Mexican Independence Day (September 16th) because its colors (green pepper, white sauce, and red pomegranate seeds) are the colors of the Mexican flag. Generally, it is only served during the months of August and September.
Last Saturday, Alejandro and I went to our favorite restaurant "Testal" for our first "chile en nogada" of the season. We think that theirs is the best, and we have eaten the dish in quite a few restaurants.
However, before digging into the "chiles", we ordered starters. Alejandro had lima bean soup.
I ordered what is known as a "sopa seca" or dry soup, a pasta or rice dish. I had "fideo seco". "Fideos" are thin noodles. They are usually served with chipotle sauce. These, however, had a sauce made from fried "pasilla" peppers and were served on a bed of black beans. They were garnished with "cotija" cheese and avocado. They were the best "fideos" that I have ever had.
Then came the main event... the "chile en nogada". They come with a little numbered ticket. Ours were the 780th and 781st "chiles" to be served this season.
As you can see, Testal is very generous with the amount of walnut sauce. Some restaurants are quite stingy with the sauce.
For dessert we shared an "uchepo", a sweet tamal from the state of Michoacán. It was served with caramel popcorn. With it we ordered Mexican hot chocolate.
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