According to legend, when Agustín de Iturbide returned to Puebla from signing the Independence declaration in Veracruz, some nuns decided celebrate the occasion by making a dish that had all the colors of the Mexican flag. Chiles en Nogada. To accomplish this they took a Chile Poblano, filled it with ripened and candied fruits, covered it with a walnut based sauce (white), and sprinkled it with parsley (green) and pomegranate (red).
Located in a sumptuous house from the Colonial era, La Doña specializes in Mexican cooking. Decorated in bright pastel colors its walls are covered with copies of paintings by Diego Rivera and María Félix, also known as “La Doña”. During the month August it offers on its menu Chiles en Nogada.
As appetizer I ordered Zetas «La Doña» (spicy mushrooms) and machitos (fried chitlings). The machitos were especially good. As a bonus I got some green and red sopes —just like the colors of the Mexican flag— as a courtesy of the house
There are many ways of preparing Chiles en Nogada. At La Doña they prepare them in the traditional way —filled with a finely minced sauce of pear, raisins and candied citron —with some ground meat just like it’s done in Puebla. The Chiles where covered with ground peanuts instead of almonds, but it was fine by me.
Highly recommended.
What I Ordered
- Zetas “La Doña”
- Machitos
- Chile en Nogada