Picadillo Filling for Chiles en Nogada

Heat the lard or oil in a large, wide skillet or sauté pan over medium heat. Add the finely diced onion and cook, stirring regularly, for 8 to 10 minutes until completely translucent and beginning to turn golden at the edges. Do not rush this step — the onion must be properly softened to contribute sweetness rather than rawness to the picadillo. In the last 2 minutes, add the minced garlic and stir constantly to prevent it from burning. The garlic should turn pale golden and fragrant — not brown. The mixture should smell sweet and deeply onion-y, with a thread of toasty garlic. If the garlic browns before the onion is soft, reduce the heat. The proper foundation of the picadillo begins here: under-sweated aromatics produce a sharp, harsh filling, while properly softened ones produce a round, sweet base that supports the complexity of the spices and dried fruit.

Add the ground pork to the pan, breaking it up immediately into very small pieces with a wooden spoon or a stiff spatula — the goal is the finest possible mince texture. Add the ground cinnamon, cloves, and black pepper directly onto the pork as it hits the pan. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring and breaking up continuously, for 8 to 10 minutes until the pork is completely cooked through and has developed some color and browning rather than just steaming. Picadillo gets its depth from browning — if the pan is overcrowded or the heat too low, the pork will steam in its own moisture and turn grey and flat. If the pan seems crowded, cook the pork in two batches. The fat rendered from the pork will combine with the lard and the spices to create an aromatic base. When the pork is brown and fragrant, reduce the heat to medium.

Add the diced tomatoes to the pork and stir to combine. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes until the tomatoes have softened and given up their liquid. Add the diced dried apricots, raisins, and chopped almonds, stirring to distribute evenly throughout the meat mixture. Add the diced fresh peach or pear. Season with salt and the sherry vinegar, stirring well. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 15 to 20 minutes until most of the tomato liquid has evaporated and the mixture is relatively dry — it needs to be dry enough to hold its shape when stuffed into a chile, not wet enough to leak out during plating. The dried fruit will have plumped and become jammy, the fresh fruit will have softened and nearly dissolved into the meat, and the almonds will be just barely tender with a faint crunch. Remove from heat and fold in the fresh parsley. Taste and adjust: the picadillo should be sweet, savory, spiced, and subtly tart all at once — complex enough to be interesting on its own and dramatic enough to hold its own against the walnut cream sauce and the poblano chile.