Picadillo Cubano

Prepare time: 10 min

Cook: 40 min

Ready in: 60 min

Ingredients:

·         2 pound of ground beef

·         5 cloves of garlic, crush them

·         1 large onion, chop fine

·         ⅓ cup of raisins

·         ½ cup of stuffed Spanish olives, cut them in half

·         1 green bell pepper, chop fine

·         1 tablespoon of tomato paste

·         1 cup of tomato sauce

·         1 cup of white wine

·         ¼ teaspoon of ground oregano

·         ½ teaspoon of ground cumin

·         1 bay leaf

·         ¼ cup of olive oil

·         Pepper and salt to taste

Directions:

·         1Use a medium sauce pan, and heat over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil. When the olive oil is hot enough, add the beef. Cook until it turns brown and it isn’t red anymore. Stir occasionally to make sure it isn’t burnt. On this phase, the beef will start to a little attach to each other a little bit. Stirring it will help to separate them to get the right texture.

·         2When the beef is cooked enough and is getting a little juicy, add the garlic, bell pepper, onion, bay leaf, oregano, and cumin. Toss them well and add pepper and salt to taste. Cook the mixture for another 10 minutes. It should start to simmer and to get aromatic.

·         3Add the tomato paste and sauce, raisings, olives, and white wine. Stir them until well mixed and turn the heat down to low. Make sure that everything is well covered including the beef so the final taste will be thorough. Cover the sauce pan, and cook for another 30 minutes. It is to make sure the beef absorbs the entire seasoning, and all of the sauce is well cooked. Stir frequently to make sure it isn’t burnt and everything is dissolved nicely. When it is bubbling, remove the saucepan from the heat and take out the bay leaf.

·         4Use a plate to serve. Prepare some cooked and warm rice on it. Pour the picadillo over the rice and complete with ¼ of avocado slice for garnish. This dish is better to serve while it is warm.

Notes:

·         Sliced avocado topped with salsa is a popular side dish for picadillo. You can add them on the plate side and make a complete menu, still Cuban style.

·         For rice, it is common to use white one. However, you can also use brown rice for healthier alternative.

·         Instead of ground beef, it is recommended to use lentils for vegan eaters. Lentils replace the beef perfectly. It tastes great and it goes really well with the entire seasoning. To replace the ground beef, you can use around 700 grams or around 4 cups of cooked lentils. Just do the same procedure and cook the lentils like you cook the beef.

·         If you want to serve this to children, please make sure that it isn’t too hot for them. For kids-friendly taste reduce the amount of cumin and bell pepper. The white wine should be fine but you can remove it if you prefer to.

Source    http://foodrecipesearch.com

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