Lentils with Chilies, Pork, & Fruit - Lentejas En Adobo
Submitted by chany
Lentejas en Adobo: Mexican lentils with pork, ancho chilies, sweet plantain, and pineapple. A traditional sweet-savory Oaxacan adobo stew with deep fruit and spice.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
4 hrsREADY
4 hrsA traditional Mexican lentil stew from the Diana Kennedy school of Mexican cooking, where lentils, pork, ancho chilies, plantain, and pineapple cook together into something unlike any other lentil dish. This is Oaxacan-style adobo: earthy lentils, tender braised pork, smoky chili paste, and the unexpected sweetness of tropical fruit against warm cinnamon and clove.
The adobo paste is the flavor engine. Ancho chilies rehydrated in hot water get pureed with broiled tomatoes, garlic, Mexican oregano, whole clove, and a stick of cinnamon, then fried in lard for four minutes to concentrate and season before joining the main pot. That brief fry in fat is the step that transforms a raw chili puree into a deeply flavored sauce. Skipping it leaves the adobo thin and harsh.
Pork gets simmered separately to tenderness (about 25 minutes), which keeps the broth clean and lets you control the seasoning of the meat before combining. The pork broth then gets repurposed to blend into the adobo paste, so nothing is wasted.
Sweet plantain cubes and pineapple wedges go in for the final 30-minute simmer. The fruit softens without falling apart and balances the smoky heat of the anchos with bright, warm sweetness. The finished pot should have the thickness of a hearty soup, served in deep bowls with warm tortillas alongside.
Chef Tips
- Use ripe (yellow-black) plantains for sweetness, not green plantains (which stay starchy and firm).
- Toast the ancho chilies briefly on a dry skillet before rehydrating. Toasting wakes up the oils and deepens flavor significantly.
- Use Mexican oregano, not Mediterranean. Mexican oregano has a citrus-anise character that matches traditional adobo.
- Skim fat during the long simmer. Pork throws off quite a bit, and a cleaner broth lets the spices shine.
Variations
- Swap fresh pineapple for canned if fresh isn’t available. Drain well to avoid diluting the adobo.
- Substitute chicken or beef chuck for pork if preferred.
- Add a spoon of raisins alongside the plantain for more fruit depth.
Ingredients
Directions
The lentils: Run the lentils through your hands to make sure there are no stones or other foreign bodies in them.
Rinse them in two changes of water and put into a pan.
Add onion, salt to taste, and enough water to come about 2 inches above the surface of the lentils.
Set over medium heat and bring to a fast simmer.
Continue simmering until the lentils are quite soft about 3 hours, depending on their age.
Keep a pan of near-boiling water on the side, ready to add if necessary.
Put the pork pieces into a pan; add salt to taste and water to cover.
Bring to a fast simmer and continue simmering until the pork is tender but not soft - about 25 minutes.
Strain, reserving the broth, and set broth and meat aside.
Cover the dried chilies with boiling water and leave to soak for about 15 minutes, until the chilies have softened and become fleshy.
Drain and put into a blender with 1 cup of the reserved pork broth, the broiled tomatoes, garlic, oregano, clove, and cinnamon; blend until smooth, adding more broth only if needed to release the blades of the blender.
Heat the lard in a small frying pan, add the blended ingredients, and fry over medium heat, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan, until reduced and well seasoned - about 4 minutes.
Add to the lentils and add the pork, remaining broth, plantain, and pineapple; simmer together for about 30 minutes.
Adjust salt and add water if necessary.
The mixture should be like a thick soup.
The Art of Mexican Cooking From the collection of Jim Vorheis
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