Novels & Nibbles: Like Water For Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

This week we’re diving fork-first into Chiles en Nogada, a dish as dramatic as the novel itself. Draped in the colors of the Mexican flag, this iconic plate celebrates Mexican independence while carrying a whole lot more than flavor. Chiles en Nogada shows up loaded with meaning. This dish mirrors Tita’s own struggle between inherited rules and personal freedom. Like every meal she creates throughout the story, it becomes a powerful release of emotion. Love, longing, grief, rebellion… Tita pours it all into her cooking, and everyone who eats feels it whether they’re ready or not.

Chiles en Nogada (Chiles in Walnut Sauce, for those of us politely negotiating with Spanish) This iconic dish reads like magical realism on a plate. Roasted poblano peppers take on the role of the vessel, filled with a rich mestizaje of ground beef and pork, sweet plantain, tomatoes, candied pineapple, black raisins, almonds, onion, and garlic. Each ingredient acts as its own narrative voice, savory and sweet in deliberate tension. The story resolves beneath a creamy walnut sauce before being punctuated with pomegranate seeds and fresh parsley. Red, white, and green. A clear motif of Mexican identity, independence, and tradition.

Come for the Chiles en Nogada. Leave a little more in love with food that tells a story.