This healthy Vegan Chiles en Nogada Recipe features roasted poblano chiles stuffed with lentil picadillo and topped with creamy walnut sauce, then sprinkled with pomegranate seeds. A simplified vegan version of the authentic Mexican National Dish!
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.
ALTERNATIVE: Roast/charr the chiles over your gas stove flame until charred
Drain the lentils, reserve 1 cup of the lentil cooking liquid, and using a potato masher, mash the lentils a bit to break them up.
Set a large pot to medium heat, add oil and fry onions until translucent, add garlic, fry for a minute, then add ¼ cup of wine or sherry. Cook for 3 minutes until onion begins to soften a lot.
Add clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, pepper, plantain, apple, peach, pear, almonds, olives, capers, and raisins. Stir mixture.
Very gently scrape the skin the chiles with the blade of a knife. Remove as much skin as possible. You will probably have to use your fingers after using your knife to remove the remaining bits of skin. With a small knife, gently split the chile down the side without cutting all the way through the tip of the chile. The chiles have a seed pod at the base of the stem. Carefully use your fingers to remove the seeds.
If you are unable to remove all of the little seeds with your fingers you can place the chile under running water to remove them. This chile is ready to be stuffed with the vegan picadillo filling.
Fill each poblano chile with enough filling so that it will just close. You don’t want the filling to spill out the side of the chile onto the plate. If the chiles won’t stay closed you can use toothpicks to close them.
Place the chiles seam side down on a plate. Pour walnut sauce over them, and sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and chopped parsley.
Chiles en nogada are served gently warmed with the sauce at room temperature.