By Lola

With the Mexican Día de la Independencia celebrations coming up in a couple of weeks (El Grito is celebrated every 16th of September—the day every Mexican the world over celebrates Mexico’s independence from Spanish rule WITH A SHOUT), chefs and homemakers prepare for the creation of historic dishes like the chiles en nogada. The name comes from the walnut tree, or nogal, but the inspiration comes from the Mexican flag: picadillo-stuffed poblano chiles are laid on the plate, topped with a white walnut-based cream sauce and sprinkled with red pomegranate seeds, representing the three colors of the flag (green, white and red).

Chef Ricardo Carrillo from the restaurant Paixa (meaning “peace” in the Náhuatl language) located in San Angel, gives us a behind the scenes glimpse of the preparation of this historic dish in this video clip, originally published in El Universal’s webpage. The video is in Spanish, but then again, pictures are worth a thousand words.

Want to make your own? Check out this great recipe from Gourmet Sleuth, Diana Kennedy’s version from her book, The Essential Cuisines of Mexico or Rick Bayless’ version on Frontera Kitchens.