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Walnut Picadillo
![Walnut Picadillo](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2022/05/19/dining/jr-walnut-picadillo/merlin_206514723_b4b4ec9e-662e-4707-9052-b7cd66cd5f81-articleLarge.jpg?width=1280&quality=75&auto=webp)
- Total Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
- 3cups/9 ounces raw walnuts, minced in food processor until finely chopped
- ½ cup tomato sauce
- 1tablespoon tomato paste
- 1tablespoon liquid aminos, soy sauce or tamari
- 1tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1tablespoon smoked paprika
- 1tablespoon raw turbinado or brown sugar
- 1teaspoon ground cumin
- 1½ to 2 teaspoons kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
- ⅓cup neutral cooking oil (such as grapeseed)
- ½medium yellow onion, chopped
- 1medium green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
- 1medium serrano chile, seeded and minced
- 3garlic cloves, minced
- 1pound russet potatoes, peeled and cut into ⅓-inch dice
- ¼ cup light beer (optional), such as a Mexican lager
- 1(14-ounce) can diced tomatoes, strained
- ¼ cup chopped pitted green olives
- 1tablespoon capers
- Cooked rice and tortillas, for serving
Preparation
- Step 1
Add the walnuts to a medium bowl with the tomato sauce, tomato paste, liquid aminos, vinegar, paprika, sugar, cumin and salt. Mix until fully combined; set aside.
- Step 2
Add the oil to a large skillet and heat over medium. Once the oil is hot and shimmering, add the onion and bell pepper. Sauté for about 5 minutes until the onion is translucent and the peppers are soft.
- Step 3
Add the serrano chile and garlic and cook until fragrant, stirring frequently, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Step 4
Add the potatoes to the skillet and cook, stirring frequently, until the potatoes soften slightly, 5 to 8 minutes.
- Step 5
Add the walnut mixture and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until the mixture lightly browns.
- Step 6
Add the beer (if using), tomatoes, olives and capers, and allow to simmer for at least 15 minutes to let the ingredients meld together, stirring frequently.
- Step 7
Serve over rice with corn tortillas.
Private Notes
Cooking Notes
I made it using mushrooms rather than potatoes-it turned out great. I added the mushrooms at the point that the recipe says to add the potatoes. I sautéed the veggies without oil a non-stick pan, adding a tablespoon of water at a time when the veggies start to stick to the pan. The walnuts make the dish plenty rich; no need to add 1/3 cup of oil.
Ground chickpeas from the can make a nice substitute----don't let them become paste. Just chop until you have a nice ground-beef type of consistency. I use it all the time in my vegan bolognese. Delicious.
Sounds delicious. Ground walnuts make a great substitute for meat - I've done tacos and chili, so I think I'll try this, too! Thanks.
I’m not a vegetarian, nor is my husband or my early teen age children, but we all thought this was delicious. The recipe takes longer than indicated because of the prep. Instead of 1 lb. of russet potatoes, I used half & added 1/2 lb. mushrooms. I also kept the juice from my can of fire roasted tomatoes. The recipe also creates a lot of food. The picadillo goes a long way & we served ours with saffron rice & lightly sautéed squash and zucchini seasoned with Tajin. Had enough to feed 8 people.
This is excellent! We found that adding a little extra water once you add the walnut mixture is useful as it is a little stiff as written, no need to drain the tomatoes either. A great choice if you are eating with a big group and want to go veggie/vegan; if you omit the beer and use the aminos (or GF soy sauce), it is gluten free. Besides rice, we've enjoyed it over pasta and polenta.
Prepared according to the recipe but doubled the cumin. Agreed with comment that it tasted great even during the intermediate steps. Could have served it just after adding the walnut mixture it was so good. Teenage kids loved it served over jasmine rice. Will definitely make again.
Made according to recipe. Added cilantro and lime. The lime was a great addition
Made w 1 lb of mushrooms instead of the potatoes and it worked out well. I was a bit annoyed by straining the diced tomatoes but did it anyway, and feel like it wasn’t necessary so will forgo it next time. This was good but not as awesome as I remember from the picadillo I got from a local Latino eatery - this was beef though. I’m thinking maybe oregano or some other flavors missing? I might experiment a bit w spices next time.
YES -- absolutely delicious. Mostly followed the recipe except: used the strained tomato juice (from the canned diced) to thin out tomato paste (didn't have any sauce, so ...), .75 potatoes / .25 mushrooms, subbed artichoke hearts for olives, and after cooling made into totally scrummy empanadas. Yum Yum Yum. Will make again later this week to serve on cilantro-lime rice. Loved by ALL: one omnivorous teen + dad, one plant-based teen + mom.
This isn’t even finished cooking and I can’t stop eating it! So flavorful!!!! (made with mushrooms not potatoes, but followed the recipe exactly otherwise) This is company worthy!!!!
Good recipe, easy to cook. My changes - added cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, bay leaf and oregano to the spicing. Added some cured black olives and raisins. Did not add tomato sauce, instead used a 14 oz can of crushed tomatoes along with tomato paste, and did not have a beer handy so used some red wine to keep the consistency appropriate. The diced potatoes are a nice addition. Served this over rice, with sour cream and guacamole.
Made this tonight as written- was delicious! Potatoes could have cooked a little bit longer. Paired it with the cilantro rice recipe.
The olives are wonderful in this dish! Do not skimp on them—you’ll be sorry without their salty tang.
This was a really interesting recipe. The mixture of textures is great. It lacks depth of flavor though. More spice is necessary from both a warmth and a heat perspective. I’ll try in the future with three Serranos and some other warm spices.
I made with a few substitutions as I didn’t have all the ingredients on hand. My brother made it over the holidays and it was such a head. I wanted to make it also… He made it as per the recipe. And both versions were delicious. I used mine to stuff Pupusas. Added a little mozzarella cheese also in the center. Highly reccomend
Served with black rice. Delicious
Very good and quite rich. A big batch with plenty of leftovers that made great chimichangas. Daughter's boyfriend ate two for two days in a row.
10/10 no notes
Are olives essential? What could be subbed for them.
I don’t have a food processor. I am wondering if my Vitamix would work for the walnuts.
I used the smaller, dry blender carafe that came with my Vitamix. You'll end up with a more uneven chop than with a food processor, and you do have to watch that it doesn't turn into paste, but it will do the trick. I don't think the carafe that's intended for wet ingredients would work.
I didn't have potatoes or mushrooms so used white beans instead and it was wonderful. I will definitely make this again.
If you have a good non-stick skillet or pan, don't use oil or cooking spray. It ruins the pan. Instead, heat the pan, put the onions and green peppers in, then if they start to stick, add 1 teaspoon of water, or broth. These will cook well, just don't add too much water. If you want to brown them, let them brown in the pan, and scrape the brown off with a tiny bit of water.
We really liked this. I followed the recipe exactly, with four exceptions: I used fino sherry instead of the beer, didn’t drain the tomatoes, added ½ t. fine sea salt (⅜ t would probably have been enough for us), and covered the pan after adding the tomatoes, etc. Worked well.
I followed the recipe exactly, apart from using two punnets of mushrooms and two cans of butter Dan’s in place of the potatoes. Served with black quinoa, and parsley salad.
Made according to recipe. Added cilantro and lime. The lime was a great addition
Sacrilege!
Lots of chopping to prepare this, lots of chewing to eat it. I’ve never prepared walnuts this way, but it’s very good. The recipe makes an enormous amt, so unless you’ve got a large army of small vegans to feed, halve it. For ‘tomato sauce’ I mixed 1/4 cup tomato paste, 1/4 water, pinch of salt. I was guilted into making this by the trenchant arguments of Elizabeth Costello
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