Memory is as haunted with tastes and smells as with sights and sounds. When we recall one of those senses, the others often follow. Just looking at a dish can transport us back to a moment in the Before Time when we still roamed far and wide. We can then close our eyes and taste and smell the dish and hear the clatter of plates and buzz of conversation in the restaurant where we ate it. HungryTravelers is devoted to bringing the taste of travel back home, but as long as physical travel is constricted, we thought we’d revisit some of those moments in food photos we’ll post weekly. Since the dishes come from all over, we’re calling them ‶world on a plate.″

With its dark green poblano chile, whitish walnut cream sauce, and bright red pomegranate seeds, chile en nogada has all the colors of the Mexican flag. No doubt some dedicated Mexican cooks make the festive dish at home, but it’s a chore of multiple steps that makes Julia Child’s classic coq au vin look like child’s play. We made it once and that was enough. Truth is, most Mexicans eat it in restaurants. Us too. Often associated with Mexican Independence Day (September 16), chile en nogada is on some restaurant menus from late August until early January, when the last promegranates are still in the market.

When it’s done right, the stuffing for the chile poblano is full of complex, spicy flavors and the walnut cream is rich and thick. When we’re in Mexico City, we often go to Hostería Santo Domingo (c/ Belisario Domínguez 70-72, hosteriasantodomingo.mx), four blocks northwest of the zócalo. The restaurant serves chiles en nogada all year long and they do it with a sense of ceremony that honors one of the most complex and sophisticated dishes in Mexican cuisine. We could go for a plate tonight … .