Did the photos get your attention?? Good. This even tastes better than it looks.
Sorry about the lack of posting but with 2 adult children and 2 new puppy children living at home, posting time (not to mention photography time) is a real luxury. Baby Lady has been working like crazy so I don’t have my trusted companion to help me. Life, however, has been good. How can life be anything but good when you have these 2 cutie pies to keep you company and wake you up bright and early every morning??
Today’s post, however, isn’t about Jack (on the left) and Sam (on the right). It’s about picadillo.
What is picadillo you ask?? Picadillo is simply a hash. It is a traditional dish in Spain and many Latin American countries with each country having it’s own unique seasonings. The name Picadillo comes from the Spanish word “picar,” meaning “to mince” or “to chop.” It is exceptionally versatile and is a common meal in many hispanic homes. It can be served as entree dish with tortillas or tostadas. It can be served as main course and accompanied with red rice and refried beans or you can serve it over a white rice bed. It can also be used as a stuffing for tamales or, as in this recipe, as a stuffing for rellenos. While traditional Mexican picadillo uses ground beef as the protein, given Baby Lady doesn’t eat red meat, we used pork. I find pork provides a greater depth of flavor and blends better with the seasonings. Next time you’re in the mood for a little Mexican food, give this a try. You will like it.
Ingredients
- 4 lbs pork shoulder, cubed (2 inch cubes)
- 3 large tomatoes (roughly 2 lb), chopped
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 Serrano chile (omit if you don’t like it spicy)
- 1 small white onion, chopped
- 1/4 cup lard (or oil)
- dash ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 3 Tbsp vinegar
- 1/2 cup raisins
- 1/2 cup hazel nuts, chopped (you can use almonds – I was out 😮 )
- 4 poblano chiles, roasted and peeled (roasting technique found here)
- chile ancho salsa (use the recipe for Red Chile Paste, except omit the pasilla negro, cascabel, guajillo and chipotle chiles and thin to the desired consistency. Also, check for salt.)
- crema
- chopped parsley
Instruction
Put the cubed pork in a deep pot
Add 3/4 of the chopped onion
Season with a little salt
Cover with water and bring to a simmer. Simmer until the meat is just tender, not soft.
Reserve the stock
and set the meat aside to cool.
While the pork is cooling, add the tomatoes to the blender
along with the garlic
the Serrano chile – remember, we like it spicy 🙂
and the remaining onion
Blend to a smooth puree
When done, the pork should be cool enough to handle so, shred the pork.
Add the lard to the pot used to simmer the meat
When melted and hot, add the tomato/vegetable puree. Cook over medium-high heat until reduced stirring frequently to prevent scorching, roughly 10 minutes
Now, reduce the heat and add the shredded pork
the stock
the cinnamon
the clove
vinegar
raisins
and hazel nuts.
Cook over medium heat until the mixture is almost dry. Adjust the salt as needed and add a touch of honey if you desire it a little sweeter. Remove from the heat and spoon into poblano chiles
Close the chiles, add a little of the ancho chile salsa to a baking dish and arrange the rellenos in the baking dish.
Put the rellenos in a preheated 350 F oven and bake for 30 – 40 minutes to heat through.
Remove from oven and plate the rellenos
Pour the ancho chile salsa over the top of the rellenos
drizzle some crema over the top
Sprinkle with the chopped parsley, serve & enjoy. 🙂
NOTES – this will yield roughly 4 cups which is enough for 6 – 8 rellenos. The picadillo reheats beautifully and can be used for tortas the next day. 🙂
REMCooks 
Richard, it was the word Relleno that caught my attention! (But the photos are eye-catching, for sure.) What a delicious way to prepare them!
Thanks Kathryn. We love rellenos. One of these days I will finally get around to doing one capeado (battered and pan fried) but it adds so many calories. So, when Quickstep finally reaches his weight goal, I will have to make it as a treat for him.
Oh Richard, don’t kid yourself! This IS about Jack and Sam and somehow, deep within me, I do not believe you will mind all that much! Ok – THEY re gorgeous and we like the recipe also . . . the raisins and the nuts do add a delicious softness!!
Thanks Eha. The puppies are real keepers and we are really glad they are part of the family (even if they are making me sleep deprived of late). I have a steady stream of photos and videos of them on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/richard.e.mcgary. The videos are priceless. They have grown so much in the last 2 weeks.
As for the recipe, this is a killer picadillo and it’s simple, to boot. 🙂
Eha expressed my sentiments exactly, the recipe sounds great, but it’s Sam and Jack that I really took notice of. Gorgeous little guys!
Thanks Sandra. We’re really proud of our new children except when they wake us up needlessly in the wee hours of the very, very early morning. 🙂
This sure does look and sound like an incredible dish, full of flavour. Is the Mexican crema like crème fraiche or sour cream? Small versions would make a beautiful appetizer for sure. Beautiful presentation.
Hi Eva. Thanks for the nice compliment. 🙂 The dish packs a whole lot of flavor and it’s mild heatwise. You are correct about Mexican crema. It is essentially crème fraiche and sour cream is an adequate substitute but still not the same.
Excellent post Richard. It reminds me of “We didn’t come here to praise Cesar etc. Lovely food. Lovely pups.
Thanks Conor. We love chile rellenos and the pups, too. Of course, we wouldn’t eat the pups. 😀 Not even with a Caesar Salad. 😀 😀 😀
This looks delicious Richard! Love the technique of cooking the pork twice. Also love your use of fresh tomatoes. Could I use ancho (ie dried poblano) instead of fresh? Great to see you back on the blog – I started to miss your recipes! Did notice on FB you were enthralled by those cute puppies 😉
Hi Stefan. Yes, the puppies are taking my time. I have to spend a considerable amount of time with them trying to potty train them. So, I’m in the backyard a lot. Baby Lady is working a whole lot and we’re eating later in the evening due to her work. So, there really isn’t a whole lot of time to blog things; however, given I have to watch the puppies, I have a lot of time to photograph and video the pups. They really are cute.
As for the recipe, ancho chiles will work but it will definitely change the flavor profile, as well as the texture. I also would not use the ancho salsa with an ancho relleno simply because of the similarity in flavor. A cilantro cream would be nice. Perhaps a foam??? The picadillo might actually work well in a fusion ravioli. It definitely works in a tamale. i need to find you some Maseca for tamales as this is a wonderful stuffing for tamales. 😀
Hi Richard, I made ancho chile stuffed with pork shoulder cooked sous-vide with guajillo chile and then served with a pickled chipotle sauce. It was very nice, I think Baby Lady and you would have liked it 🙂 Post to follow…
https://stefangourmet.wordpress.com/2015/01/31/chile-ancho-relleno-ancho-stuffed-with-pork/
I have two young girls who would love those pups Richard! Actually, so would I…i miss not having a dog about the place. Lovely looking dish indeed, that’s my kind of food!
Hi Phil. Youngsters love puppies. Who doesn’t love puppies? My experience with puppies and children, however, is children love to love and play with the puppies. It’s the walking, housebreaking, walking, feeding, cleaning up after, and training they don’t like. 😀 This is still true today with our 2 adult children living at home. They gladly play with them and love on them but when it comes to feeding or cleaning up after them, it just aint their job. 😮 Good thing I’m older and knew this already or I would be in serious trouble. These puppies, however, are really good and we are absolutely tickled pink with them. They are a rare breed and only recognized by the AKC this year but they are worth every penny we spent on them and then some. We have videos and photos of them posted on my personal Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/richard.e.mcgary
Ha! You’re right of course, our two would be the same (I know I was), but like you I’m expecting it! Love the ‘buzz’ dogs bring to a house, bordering on chaotic at times, but they’re great companions.
What breed are they?
They are Coton de Tulear, a rare breed, only recognized by the AKC this year. They are from Madagascar and were discovered in 1970. They are descended from the Bichon.
They are beautiful looking dogs – the youngsters in particular would be smitten – they’re drawn like to moth to a flame whenever they see similar looking breeds (I doubt it would be a Coton de Tulear!)
they are adorable! food looks good too 🙂
Hi Andreea. Thanks. Good to see you. The dogs are really cute and the relleno was delicious. 🙂
These sound amazingly good, Richard! But the salad on the plate caught my eye even more. Is that one on your site? Looks like barley in there? Sure does look good!
Actually, Peggy, it’s a side dish we threw together. No barley at all. It’s sliced zucchini, fresh summer corn, roasted New Mexico Green Chiles, grape and sunburst tomatoes, and oyster mushrooms, sautéed with 2 Tbsp shallots, 1 clove of garlic, and seasoned with 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp oregano and salt to taste.
This looks amazing Richard 🙂
This looks so good. I can’t wait to try it. The puppies *almost* stole the show, Richard. 🙂
Shanna, the puppies did steal the show but that’s OK because they stole our hearts. 😄 The relleno is pretty tasty but the star of the recipe is the picadillo.