Authentic Cuban Picadillo Food

CUBAN BEEF PICADILLO

Steps:

• In a medium-size frying pan, brown the ground beef with a dash of cumin and pepper, drain off any excess grease, and set aside.
• In a large frying pan, heat 2 tbs of olive oil over med-low heat and cook the diced onion until soft
• Add the chopped garlic and cook until almost golden.
• Mix in the bell pepper, cumin, pepper and a little salt - not too much as the olives and capers are salty.
• Add the potatoes pieces and cook for about 5 minutes.
• Add the ground beef and the wine, let the liquid reduce.
• Add raisins and tomato sauce when the potatoes are about half-cooked (a knife can easily through the first part but the center is still very firm).
• Cook for 5 more minutes and then add the olives and capers.
• Continue cooking over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are ready. If the sauce thickens too much, you can add some more wine or a little bit of water. Taste and adjust any seasonings: salt, pepper, cumin or additional olives/capers.
• Serve with rice, fried ripe plantains and a small salad.

CLASSIC CUBAN-STYLE PICADILLO

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; cook and stir garlic, onion, and green bell pepper in the hot oil until softened, 5 to 7 minutes.
• Crumble ground beef into the skillet; cook and stir until browned completely, 7 to 10 minutes.
• Stir olives, raisins, capers, tomato sauce, sazon seasoning, cumin, sugar, and salt through the ground beef mixture.
• Cover the skillet, reduce heat to low, and cook until the mixture is heated through, 5 to 10 minutes.

CUBAN PICADILLO

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, and bay leaves and saute until onion is soft, stirring frequently, about 4 minutes.
• Add ground beef to skillet and cook until browned. Once the meat is browned, carefully away from the flame, tilt pan and remove excess fat with a large spoon.
• Add the white wine and stir for another minute. Then add the chopped cherry tomatoes, tomato paste, pimento stuffed Spanish olives, raisins, dried oregano, cumin and cayenne pepper. Simmer over low heat for another 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper.
• Serve warm:
• As a filling for empanadas or tacos
• Over white rice with fried plantains or black beans
• With a side salad and black beans
• To make Picadillo soupier for serving over rice, add additional wine, chicken or beef stock.

CUBAN PICADILLO

Steps:

• Mash the salt, pepper and garlic together in a mortar until well blended.
• Lightly brown this mixture in the lard/oil with the pepper and the onions until the onions become translucent.
• Add the tomato sauce and let it simmer for a minute.
• Add the vinegar.
• Add the meat and cook for 5-minutes.
• Add the cooking wine, olives and raisins.
• Simmer until liquid is absorbed (I usually let this simmer for around an hour or so on low, so the flavors meld together).
• Serve with rice and beans and a nice cold beer.
• Tastes even better the next day!

CUBAN-STYLE PICADILLO

Steps:

• Heat oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, garlic, and bay leaves; sauté until onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Add beef; sauté until cooked, breaking up with back of fork, about 7 minutes. Add all remaining ingredients. Simmer until picadillo thickens, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Discard bay leaves. Serve picadillo warm.

CUBAN PICADILLO

Steps:

• In a large skillet, cook onions in oil over low heat for 15-20 minutes or brown, stirring occasionally. Add wine; cook and stir 2 minutes longer. Transfer to a 3- or 4-qt. slow cooker., In the same skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink. Add to slow cooker. Combine the tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, garlic and seasonings; pour over top. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours or until heated through., Place raisins in a small bowl. Cover with boiling water; let stand for 5 minutes. Drain. Stir the green pepper, olives, jalapeno and raisins into the slow cooker. Cover and cook 30 minutes longer. Serve with rice.

CUBAN-STYLE PICADILLO

Steps:

• Place the potatoes into a large pot with enough water to cover; season with salt. Bring the water to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low, place a cover on the pot, and cook the potatoes at a simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and set aside to cool.
• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat; cook and stir the onion, green bell pepper, and garlic in the hot oil until the vegetables soften, about 5 minutes.
• Crumble the ground beef into the onion mixture, breaking the meat into smaller pieces as you mix; cook and stir until the beef is completely browned, 7 to 10 minutes. Drain as much fat from the mixture as possible.
• Stir the red wine, tomato sauce, olives, capers, golden raisins, cumin, oregano, black pepper, and 1/4 teaspoon salt into the ground beef mixture. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook at a simmer until the wine had reduced significantly, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Peel the cooled potatoes and cut into chunks.
• Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook the potatoes in the hot oil until browned, about 5 minutes.
• Gently fold the cooked potatoes into the simmering ground beef mixture; cook together 5 minutes.

CUBAN PICADILLO

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large saucepan and add the onion and garlic.
• Cook over very low heat until the onions are almost tender, about 10 minutes.
• Add the ground beef and brown, stirring constantly with a fork to break up the meat.
• Stir in the tomato paste, chile, tomatoes, cumin, oregano, half the parsley and scallions, and the sugar, mix well.
• Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and cook, covered, for 20 minutes.
• Add the stock and potato and continue cooking, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until the patato is tender and most of the liquid has evaporated.
• Use the tomato juice if you need more liquid.
• Mix in the remaining parsley and scallions and season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Serve with bread or rice.