American World Traveler Fall 2018 Issue

times called mole verde, is a flavorful
sauce made with green pumpkin seeds
and spices, ground till smooth; it is also
considered a specialty in Puebla, though
you’ll see it prepared in the traditional cuisine
of other regions, like Yucatán. Pipián
rojo is a variation, made with tomatoes
and dried chiles.
Popular throughout Mexico, chiles en
nogada are a highly distinctive poblano
creation. Traditionally prepared during the
fall harvest season and served as a part of
the Independence Day holidays in
September, a chile en nogada is a large
green poblano pepper stuffed with beef or
pork, almonds, fruit, and spices, which is
then bathed in a creamy walnut sauce
and showered with pomegranate seeds.
Another rich regional dish, tinga poblana
is slow-cooked shredded pork in a stew of
chipotle chiles and vegetables. It is usually
served with tortillas and rolled into tacos.
Some wonderful quick bites and street
foods are also typical to Puebla. A popular
appetizer or snack, chalupas are small,
handmade corn tortillas that are deep
fried in manteca (lard) or hot oil, then
doused in spicy salsa and topped with
shredded pork and onions. Puebla’s version
of the torta is the cemita, a sandwich
made on a sesame-studded roll also
called a cemita. Cemitas are piled with
meat, string cheese, lettuce, tomato, and
onion, then garnished with pápalo, a fragrant
Mexican herb. Another poblano
sandwich, the pelona is served on a soft,
lightly fried bun, layered with beans,
meat, and cheese. Tacos árabes are a
Middle Eastern-inspired taco made with
spit-roasted meat served in a warm pita
and topped with lime and chipotle salsa.
Puebla is also famous throughout the
country for its traditional dulces (sweets).
On the highways outside town, vendors
sell bags of the city’s famous candy to
motorists idling at the tollbooths. Among
the most typical sweets in Puebla are
starchy treats made with camote (sweet
potato). Sweet potatoes are cooked,
sweetened, and flavored, then rolled into
soft, cigar-shaped tubes. Also typical to
Puebla are macarrones, a type of dulce de
leche (milk candy), and mueganos, a
fudgelike cake made with flour, egg, butter,
and unrefined sugar. Sweets made
with pumpkin seeds are a regional specialty;
try tortitas de Santa Clara, a small
cookie topped with pumpkin-seed cream,
or jamoncillo, a fudgelike treat garnished
with nuts. Many of these sweets (like much
of Puebla’s famous food) were originally
created by nuns, who sold candies and
eggnog (rompope) to support their convents,
as they continue to do today.
If you’d like to do more than taste, there
are cooking classes at the Mesón Sacristia
boutique hotel and restaurant (6 Sur 304,
http://mesones-sacristia.com).
Puebla has a long and important history
in Mexico, founded in the early colonial
era. It’s one of the few cities in Mexico
that weren’t built directly atop an existing
native community, and its beautifully preserved
historic center is filled with some of
the most impressive colonial churches,
palaces, and ex-convents in the country,
replete with ornate gold-leaf trimmings,
magnificent stonework, and Puebla’s distinct
signature, Talavera tile.
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Adapted from Moon Mexico City by Julie
Meade. Copyright © 2018. Available from
Avalon Travel, an imprint of Perseus Books,
a Hachette Book Group company.
American World Traveler Fall 2018