Reading Comprehension: “Chile en Nogada”

Good day to you all,

Last Sunday it was Cinco de Mayo, which celebrates the victory of the Mexican Army over the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. It is often called Mexican Independence Day in error since Mexico declared its independence on September 16, 1810, some fifty years earlier. Cinco de Mayo is celebrated more enthusiastically by Mexican descendants in the United States than in its native Mexico. Celebrations include not only wonderful Mexican foods, but also parades, mariachi music, and folk dancing.

Cinco de Mayo is most celebrated in Puebla, where the famed Battle of Puebla took place on May 5, 1862. So today we are going to learn some English vocabulary with a traditional Pueblan food: chile en nogada.

Ingredients

6 large green chiles, for stuffing
3/4 cup crema or sour cream
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts
1 pomegranate, seeds separated
1/2 lb ground pork or beef
3 garlic cloves
1/4 of an onion, peeled and diced
1 tablespoon lard or vegetable oil
1 apple, peeled, cored and seeded, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons unsalted almonds, chopped
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1 bunch fresh parsley, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons raisins, softened in warm water
3 eggs

Preparation

Roast the chiles and remove the skins and seeds.
Heat the oil or lard over medium heat in a large pan. Add in the beef or pork and brown until nearly done. Add in the garlic, onion, apple, almonds, cinnamon, nutmeg, cumin, pinch of salt and pepper and cook for about 5 minutes.

Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks with a mixer or a whisk. Fold in the egg yolks and a pinch of salt. Dip each stuffed chile in the egg mixture and fry until golden brown.

Stuff the chiles with equal portions of the stuffing. Blend or mix the crema, walnuts and sugar with the evaporated milk. Pour over the freshly cooked chiles and sprinkle with pomegranate seeds.

Vocabulary

Stuffing – a seasoned mixture of food that is put inside another food and cooked.

Seeds – a small object produced by a plant from which a new plant can grow.

Lard – a soft white substance that is made from the fat of pigs and used in cooking.

Coarsely – having a rough quality.

Roast – to cook (food such as chicken, potatoes, or beef) with dry heat in an oven or over a fire.

Peaks – something that looks like a pointed top of a mountain.

Dip – to put (something) into a liquid and pull it out again quickly.