Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Picadillo....sort of

I had a pound of ground beef...what to make for dinner? Picadillo! But of course, I did not have all the necessary ingredients (what else is new?) and did not want to go grocery shopping (what else is new?), so I improvised!

  • Brown a pound of ground beef with one white onion (chopped) and two cloves of garlic (thinly sliced).

  • Sprinkle with a few dashes of cumin and oregano.

  • Once the meat is no longer pink, add one red pepper (cubed) and cook for 3-5 minutes.

  • Add one can of tomatoes and two tablespoons of tomato paste.

  • Cook for a few minutes.

  • Add one handful of dried apricots (thinly sliced) and one handful of green olives (thinly sliced) and cook for a few more minutes.

  • Add two tablespoons of capers and cook for a few more minutes, or until everything is cooked through to your preference (I like my red peppers to still have a bit of a bite).

  • Serve over rice and add a sprig of cilantro. I must confess that I'm not sure if what I have was brown rice or barley...I probably should not think about it :)

P.S. TasteSpotting chose to publish my recipe!!!!

3 comments:

The Poor Dispositionist said...

Orchid Girl, no salt and pepper? :) Can't leave out the flavor!

But also, do you add the onion and garlic at the same time as the raw meat?

Lastly, I think Mediterranean (apricots, olives, capers) flavors with meats are better complimented by a flavor to taste of cinnamon, nutmeg and white pepper or acids (lemon, wine, vinegar, yogurt) vs. the more exotic or herbal flavors -- i.e. cilantro.

That said, it looks delish and for sure I'd eat it in one sitting:)

test it comm said...

That looks tasty!

Anonymous said...

i agree that this recipe is lacking in seasoning. it should really have a fair amount of black pepper, salt (especially if the olives aren't briny enough), and hot paprika. good call on the cumin and oregano, but it also benefits from bay.

as this is a recipe all about balance (hot-sweet-sour-salty), i tend to think that green or cubanelle peppers add a nice alkaline flavor that is missed with the red pepper, which could throw the dish too sweet. i also add a chili early in the process to get some heat. all a matter of taste, of course.

i like the idea of apricots instead of raisins. but in either case, i recommend supplementing this dish with lime juice, vinegar, or both. occasionally, i'll make a quick mojo at the end to stir in, just to keep the flavor bright.

@the poor dispositionist:

it would be interesting to do a mediterranean take on picadillo, however, don't be deceived by the seemingly mediterranean ingredients: picadillo is a caribbean dish - this version being sort of cuban. a pinch of nutmeg, if offset with sufficient amounts of cumin, pepper, and paprika, could be an interesting addition.