Walnut Picadillo

By Jocelyn Ramirez

Updated May 22, 2022

Walnut Picadillo
Chris Simpson for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Frances Boswell.
Total Time
1 hour
Rating
4(557)
Comments
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Picadillo is a dish that spans Latin American and Filipino food cultures with ingredients that vary from country to region. It’s a simple dish that highlights ground meat with bold flavors from tomato, onion, garlic, olives and capers, and is often paired with starches like potatoes and rice for a filling main dish, or even a taco filling. In this plant-based version, ground walnuts take on a meaty texture that absorbs all the bold flavors of a picadillo. Using a food processor is the best — and fastest — way to make sure the walnuts are evenly minced.

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Ingredients

Yield:6 servings (about 5 cups)
  • 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
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

506 calories; 41 grams fat; 4 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 12 grams monounsaturated fat; 24 grams polyunsaturated fat; 31 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 10 grams protein; 650 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. Step 3

    Add the serrano chile and garlic and cook until fragrant, stirring frequently, 1 to 2 minutes.

  4. Step 4

    Add the potatoes to the skillet and cook, stirring frequently, until the potatoes soften slightly, 5 to 8 minutes.

  5. Step 5

    Add the walnut mixture and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until the mixture lightly browns.

  6. 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.

  7. Step 7

    Serve over rice with corn tortillas.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
557 user ratings
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Comments

Maggie

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.

Sarah

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.

Lara

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.

Gabby Teixeira

Subbed potatoes with sautéed tempeh. Only tomato ingredients used were peeled tomatoes and a bit of ketchup. Spices: chili, pepper, turmeric, cumin mix. Served with cilantro lime rice, avocado, and crispy roasted kale. For my cheese lover husband I served the picadillo inside a quesadilla. Walnuts are heavy so I didn’t use any oil other than to sautée the onion garlic and tempeh.

ES

Thanks for the tip about subbing mushroom for potatoes - it worked great. As I was making this, I thought, hmm, it’s fussy and has a lot of ingredients. Then my teenage son tasted it and said, “Wow!” And the whole family loved it. Worth the time and effort. The taste is rich, umam, interesting, moreish.

S

Potatoes seem a bit of a waste here. I added extra aminos to keep it gluten free and used half chickpea half mushroom in place of the potatoes to add a tiny bit of protein. You could probably also throw in some TVP. I used a few extra green olives and wonder if the capers are necessary? I’ll try with capers next time

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