Uploaded April 2022 | Updated September 2026, 5 hours ago
This recipe has long been one of my favorites at a particular Mexican restaurant in my hometown. The dish’s name means “stuffed chilis in creamy walnut sauce” in English. The sauce is made from toasted, peeled walnut pieces, milk, sour cream and chevre. The peppers are stuffed with a pork picadillo.
The dish is served at room temperature, which is a little unusual in today’s world. As long as the sauce is not directly cooked, it can go atop a warmed chile relleno and satisfy the contemporary desire for food to be at least warm. Do not get the sauce too hot as it will certainly break. The stuffed peppers may be prepared ahead and then frozen for a couple of weeks before using (or up to 3 months in a deep freeze).
If you are able to roast the peppers over a true flame and blister them, their skins will come off easily. Otherwise, it is not really worth the trouble to get the skins off, in my opinion. Either way they must be broiled, whether with fire or under an element, to soften them just enough to get inside and remove the pith and seeds without destroying them.
It does seem worthwhile to take the skins off the walnuts. Not just the shells but the skin, which is a medium brown in color. The meat of the walnut is ivory colored. To peel the walnuts, pour over enough boiling water to cover them and let them soak for 2 minutes. Pour off some of the water and add cold in order to be able to handle them, then use a paring knife to carefully strip the skins from the walnut halves. Once they are peeled, toast them a little longer than you might normally, as they will have some extra moisture to get rid of.
Makes enough for 6 people: 6 peppers and ~2 cups of sauce.
Equipment:
• small mixing bowl for soaking walnuts
• sous-vide cooking setup
• blender for sauce
• pie tin for toasting almonds and walnuts
• paring knife for peeling walnuts
• sheet pan for broiling peppers (unless a flame is available)
Ingredients:
6 ea poblano peppers (use more if they are small)
1 1/4 lb pork shoulder
2 cloves garlic chopped and smashed
1 Tbsp onion powder
3/4 cup blanched almonds
1 cup onion chopped
3 Tbsp raisins
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1 ea pear peeled, cored, diced
1/2 cup tomato 1 medium tomato, diced
For the sauce:
1 1/4 cup walnut halves peeled and toasted
2/3 cup whole milk
2-4 oz chevre more will make a thicker sauce
1/2 cup sour cream
1 ea pomegranate broken down for seeds
Procedure:
1. Chop and smash 2 cloves of garlic, mix with the onion powder and salt, and use to coat the pork shoulder.
2. Seal the pork shoulder into a cooking bag and process it sous vide at about 165F for 24 hours.
3. Blanch and peel the walnuts as described above. If the walnuts are to be toasted and used the next day, refrigerate them. Without their skins they spoil very quickly.
4. When the pork is done, allow it cool until it can be handled, then store the meat and its juices separately, so that the fat and the broth may be separated later.
5. In a 375F oven, toast the almonds for about 7 minutes, and the walnuts for 10-12 minutes, shaking occasionally to ensure they cook evenly.
6. To make the filling, place the separated pork fat into a skillet, get it warm, and add the chopped onion.
7. Allow the onion to soften.
8. Shred the cooked pork using two forks, as though making rillettes.
9. Once the onion is soft, add the garlic and stir once, then add the chopped tomato.
10.Add the reserved pork juices, the spices, raisins, pears, toasted almonds and additional garlic if desired.
11.Once the sauce has thickened, turn off the heat and add the shredded pork and stir through well.
12.Adjust the seasoning of the filling with salt and black pepper, and whatever else it may need.
13.Lightly oil and then broil the peppers, using tongs and open flame or a grill, or on a pan under the broiler.
14.Once the peppers have started to puff, place them in a sealed bag or a mixing bowl wrapped tightly with plastic film.
15.Allow the peppers to cool a bit in the steam, and then use a clean (cloth) kitchen towel to help remove the skins; if the peppers were broiled under an element, this may take more time than it is worth, but you can be the judge.
16.Once the peppers are cool and as peeled as you want, make a slit in each one, from stem to tip, and carefully remove the stringy pith and seeds within.
17.Once the filling is cool enough to handle, stuff each pepper with filling. We found that the filling all fit inside 6 peppers, which were on the large side. If using smaller peppers you may be able to make more peppers.
18.Wrap any peppers to be stored in plastic film and freeze them.
19.To make the sauce, combine all the sauce ingredients in the blender and blend them until they are smooth. Adjust the flavor with salt.
20.To serve top with about 1/3 cup of the sauce, and then sprinkle with pomegranate seeds. Optionally garnish with chopped parsley also.
Music: bensound.com/royalty-free-music
This recipe has long been one of my favorites at a particular Mexican restaurant in my hometown. The dish’s name means “stuffed chilis in creamy walnut sauce” in English. The sauce is made from toasted, peeled walnut pieces, milk, sour cream and chevre. The peppers are stuffed with a pork picadillo.
The dish is served at room temperature, which is a little unusual in today’s world. As long as the sauce is not directly cooked, it can go atop a warmed chile relleno and satisfy the contemporary desire for food to be at least warm. Do not get the sauce too hot as it will certainly break. The stuffed peppers may be prepared ahead and then frozen for a couple of weeks before using (or up to 3 months in a deep freeze).
If you are able to roast the peppers over a true flame and blister them, their skins will come off easily. Otherwise, it is not really worth the trouble to get the skins off, in my opinion. Either way they must be broiled, whether with fire or under an element, to soften them just enough to get inside and remove the pith and seeds without destroying them.
It does seem worthwhile to take the skins off the walnuts. Not just the shells but the skin, which is a medium brown in color. The meat of the walnut is ivory colored. To peel the walnuts, pour over enough boiling water to cover them and let them soak for 2 minutes. Pour off some of the water and add cold in order to be able to handle them, then use a paring knife to carefully strip the skins from the walnut halves. Once they are peeled, toast them a little longer than you might normally, as they will have some extra moisture to get rid of.
Makes enough for 6 people: 6 peppers and ~2 cups of sauce.
Equipment:
• small mixing bowl for soaking walnuts
• sous-vide cooking setup
• blender for sauce
• pie tin for toasting almonds and walnuts
• paring knife for peeling walnuts
• sheet pan for broiling peppers (unless a flame is available)
Ingredients:
6 ea poblano peppers (use more if they are small)
1 1/4 lb pork shoulder
2 cloves garlic chopped and smashed
1 Tbsp onion powder
3/4 cup blanched almonds
1 cup onion chopped
3 Tbsp raisins
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1 ea pear peeled, cored, diced
1/2 cup tomato 1 medium tomato, diced
For the sauce:
1 1/4 cup walnut halves peeled and toasted
2/3 cup whole milk
2-4 oz chevre more will make a thicker sauce
1/2 cup sour cream
1 ea pomegranate broken down for seeds
Procedure:
1. Chop and smash 2 cloves of garlic, mix with the onion powder and salt, and use to coat the pork shoulder.
2. Seal the pork shoulder into a cooking bag and process it sous vide at about 165F for 24 hours.
3. Blanch and peel the walnuts as described above. If the walnuts are to be toasted and used the next day, refrigerate them. Without their skins they spoil very quickly.
4. When the pork is done, allow it cool until it can be handled, then store the meat and its juices separately, so that the fat and the broth may be separated later.
5. In a 375F oven, toast the almonds for about 7 minutes, and the walnuts for 10-12 minutes, shaking occasionally to ensure they cook evenly.
6. To make the filling, place the separated pork fat into a skillet, get it warm, and add the chopped onion.
7. Allow the onion to soften.
8. Shred the cooked pork using two forks, as though making rillettes.
9. Once the onion is soft, add the garlic and stir once, then add the chopped tomato.
10.Add the reserved pork juices, the spices, raisins, pears, toasted almonds and additional garlic if desired.
11.Once the sauce has thickened, turn off the heat and add the shredded pork and stir through well.
12.Adjust the seasoning of the filling with salt and black pepper, and whatever else it may need.
13.Lightly oil and then broil the peppers, using tongs and open flame or a grill, or on a pan under the broiler.
14.Once the peppers have started to puff, place them in a sealed bag or a mixing bowl wrapped tightly with plastic film.
15.Allow the peppers to cool a bit in the steam, and then use a clean (cloth) kitchen towel to help remove the skins; if the peppers were broiled under an element, this may take more time than it is worth, but you can be the judge.
16.Once the peppers are cool and as peeled as you want, make a slit in each one, from stem to tip, and carefully remove the stringy pith and seeds within.
17.Once the filling is cool enough to handle, stuff each pepper with filling. We found that the filling all fit inside 6 peppers, which were on the large side. If using smaller peppers you may be able to make more peppers.
18.Wrap any peppers to be stored in plastic film and freeze them.
19.To make the sauce, combine all the sauce ingredients in the blender and blend them until they are smooth. Adjust the flavor with salt.
20.To serve top with about 1/3 cup of the sauce, and then sprinkle with pomegranate seeds. Optionally garnish with chopped parsley also.
Music: bensound.com/royalty-free-music
