Chiles & Picadillo

• 8 lg poblano chiles
• 2 plum tomatoes
• 8 oz tomatillos, husks & stems removed, rinsed well & dried
• 1/2 lg onion, peeled & quartered through root end
• 1 jalapeno chile, stemmed
• 3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
• 2 t minced canned chipotle chile in adobo sauce
• 2 t oregano, chopped
• 1-3/4 t salt, divided
• 1 t ground cinnamon
• 1/4 t ground cloves
• 1/4 t ground cumin
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 lb ground pork
• 1/4 c dry sherry (I used cooking sherry)
• 1 Bosc pear, cut into 1/4″ pieces
• 1 peach, peeled & cut into 1/4″ pieces
• 1/3 c raisins
• 1/3 c green olives, sliced thin
• 1/3 c pine nuts, toasted
• 1/4 c parsley, chopped
• 1/2 t lemon zest, grated
• 2 T lemon juice

Nogada

• 1-1/2 c Mexican crema (see NOTE below)
• 1-1/2 c walnuts
• 2 oz goat cheese (see NOTE below)
• 1/4 c water
• 1 T honey
• 1 t dry sherry
• 1/4 t ground nutmeg
• 1/4 t salt

For the Chiles:

Adjust oven rack 6″ from broiler & heat broiler.  Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil & coat with oil.  Evenly space poblanos on prepared sheet & broil until skins just begin to blister, 4-6 min.  Flip poblanos & continue to broil on 2nd side, 3-5 min.  Transfer poblanos to plate & let cool, approx 10 min.

When cool, carefully peel poblanos & discard skins.  Working with 1 poblano at a time, cut slit lengthwise down 1 side of chile starting just below stem & stopping 1/2″ before end.  Cut away interior seed bulb & scoop out any remaining seeds.  Repeat with remaining poblanos & set aside.

Place tomatoes, tomatillos, onion, jalapeno & garlic on now-empty foil-lined sheet.  Broil, turning every 4 min, until vegetables are lightly charred, 12-14 min.  Let veggies cool on baking sheet for 10 min.

Peel garlic, trim root end from onion & remove stem from jalapeno.  Add all to blender or food processor along with tomatoes, tomatillos, chipotle, oregano, 1-1/4 t salt, cinnamon, cloves & cumin & process until smooth, 1-2 min.

Heat oil in 12″ skillet over med-high heat until shimmering.  Add pork & remaining 1/2 t salt & mash with spatula into an even layer that covers bottom of skillet.  Cook pork without moving until lightly browned around edges, about 2 min.  Continue to cook, stirring constantly & breaking up meat into 1/4″ pieces, until meat is almost cooked through, about 2 min longer.  Add sherry & cook until reduced by half, 30 sec.  Add tomato mixture & bring to simmer.  (Rinse out blender or food processor.) Adjust heat to maintain gentle simmer & cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce has thickened & spatula leaves a trail that does not fill in when dragged through, 10-12 min.

Stir in pear, peach, raisins, olives, pine nuts, chopped parsley, lemon zest & juice.  Remove skillet from heat & let stand until mixture has cooled & fruit has softened, about 10 min.  Season with salt to taste.

Add all ingredients to blender or food processor & process until smooth, about 2 min, scraping down sides as needed.

Using spoon, carefully fill each poblano with about 3/4 c of picadillo, gently pressing filling into cavity so poblano is full, but not bursting.  Place filled poblanos on plate & spoon about 1/4-1/2 c sauce over each poblano.  Serve & enjoy!

I didn’t really want to buy Mexican crema & goat cheese just for this dish.  So, I looked in my fridge & found mascarpone & cream cheese.  Mascarpone subbed in nicely for the Mexican crema & cream cheese worked great in place of the goat cheese…though I did add a bit more water to properly thin it out.  Maybe not perfectly authentic…but certainly tasty!