A Cuban creation, picadillo is one of the world’s great ground meat dishes. I went with beef, but you can add some pork and/or chorizo. Serve it with rice.
Preparation Details
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 45 mins
Total Time: 55 mins
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 ½ pounds ground beef (85% lean)
- 1 cup diced yellow onion
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 cups crushed tomatoes
- ¼ cup water
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- ¼ cup currants or raisins
- ½ cup sliced pimento-stuffed green olives, or to taste
Steps
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground beef. Cook and break up beef into small pieces with a spoon or spatula until completely loses its pink color, 8 to 10 minutes. Add onion and salt; cook until onion turns translucent, about 5 minutes. Add bay leaves, cumin, black pepper, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper; cook 2 minutes. Add garlic; cook 1 minute.
- Stir in crushed tomatoes, water, and red wine vinegar; cook and deglaze pan, about 3 minutes. Add currants; bring back to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and cook until beef is tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
- Gently stir in sliced olives; cover and cook 10 to 15 minutes more.
