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Vegan Chiles en Nogada, roasted poblano chile is stuffed with an aromatic picadillo, covered in walnut cream sauce and pomegranate seeds.
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Vegan Chiles en Nogada

Vegan Chiles en Nogada, roasted poblano chile is stuffed with an aromatic picadillo, covered in walnut cream sauce and pomegranate seeds.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Diet Vegan
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 6 Servings
Calories 446kcal
Author Dora S.

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cups lentils dry
  • ½ Onion, large
  • 2 Garlic cloves, peeled, smashed
  • 2 Large tomatoes, (see note)
  • 6 Poblano peppers, roasted, peeled, seeds removed

Lentil picadillo:

  • 1 tbsp Avocado oil
  • ½ Onion, minced (1 cup)
  • 3 cloves Garlic, minced
  • 2 ½ tbsp. Raisins
  • ¾ cup Diced ripe plantain
  • ¼ cup Bosc pear, diced
  • ¼ cup Honeycrisp apple, diced
  • ¼ cup Pinenuts
  • ¼ cup Slivered almonds
  • 8 Manzanilla olives, quartered (optional)
  • 1 tbsp. Chopped capers (optional)
  • tsp. Clove, ground
  • ¼ tsp. Cinnamon, ground
  • tsp. Ground black pepper
  • tsp thyme, dried
  • tsp oregano, dried

Sauce:

  • 1 ½ cup Walnuts, soaked in water the night before, drained
  • 1 ½ cup Almond milk, unsweetened
  • 1 ½ cup Baguette or bolillo, cut crust off, cut bread into cubes
  • 1 ½ tsp. Sugar or sweetener of choice
  • 1 ½ tsp. sweet Sherry wine or white wine
  • Salt to taste

Garnish:

  • 1 Pomegranate, cut, peeled, and seeds removed
  • ¼ cup Chopped parsley

Instructions

  • Fill a medium pot with water and add lentils, ½ of an onion, and 2 smashed garlic cloves. Bring to a simmer over medium heat and cook until tender, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
  • While the lentils are cooking, place the two tomatoes and the poblano peppers on a sheet tray. Turn your oven broiler to high and place sheet tray on the top rack of the oven. Let them cook for a couple of minutes on each side until the tomato and the chiles begin to soften and have black spots all over. Remove from heat. Place the tomates and chiles in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rest 5 minutes.
  • Drain the lentils, reserve 1 cup of the lentil cooking liquid, and using a potato masher, mash them to break them up.
  • Peel the poblano peppers, make 1 cut lengthwise with a knife, and remove the seeds. Set aside.
  • Remove half of the skin off of the tomatoes, and using a blender process them into a puree. Set aside.
  • Set a large pot to medium heat, add oil, and onion. Cook for 4-5 minutes until onion begins to soften and look translucent.
  • Add garlic and cook for 2 more minutes.
  • Add cooked lentils, mix well, and pour in tomato puree. Let cook for 3-4 minutes or until the puree begins to bubble and change to a darker red color.
  • Add the raisin and plantain and bring to a simmer. Add clove, cinnamon, black pepper, plantain, apple, pear, almonds, olives, and capers. Stir mixture.
  • Add 1 cup of the liquid you reserved from the lentils, and simmer for 20 min or until the plantain is cooke through. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
  • While the picadillo is cooking, soak the cut bread in the cup of almond milk for 5 minutes.
  • In a blender, place the soaked bread and milk, previously soaked and drained walnuts, sugar, and white wine, blend until smooth. Season to taste with salt. It should have the consistency of a cream sauce. If it is too thick, add more almond milk. Set aside.
  • Stuff the chiles rellenos with the lentil picadillo. Place the chiles seam side down on a plate. Pour walnut sauce over them, and sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and chopped parsley.

Video

Notes

It is not traditional, but I like to add olives and capers. You can omit them if you like. 
To save time you can buy pre-cooked lentils, and substitute the tomatoes with 1 cup of pureed roasted diced tomatoes (canned). Do not heat up the walnut sauce. Instead of lentils you could use TVP, beefless crumbles or jackfruit.

Nutrition

Serving: 1chile en nogada | Calories: 446kcal | Carbohydrates: 70g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 374mg | Potassium: 1279mg | Fiber: 17g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 1630IU | Vitamin C: 127.7mg | Calcium: 198mg | Iron: 5.5mg