Picadillo is a popular ground beef dish in Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, and Filipino cuisines. Each country has its own version with additional ingredients, typically served with rice or tortillas and used as a filling for tacos, empanadas, or wraps. A basic recipe for Mexican-style picadillo is provided.
Picadillo is an easy-to-prepare ground beef dish that is very popular in Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, and Filipino cuisines. The name picadillo comes from the verb picar, which means to chop into small pieces in Spanish. The basic ingredients include minced meat, tomatoes and onions, but each country has its own version with various additional ingredients. It is typically served with rice or warm tortillas. It is also often used as a filling for tacos, empanadas or wraps.
The Mexican version of picadillo is a common dish in most households. Lime juice is often added to a ground beef-onion mixture as it turns brown. Sugar or honey, chiles, and Mexican spices are usually added, creating a sweet and spicy dish, usually served with tortilla chips and beans. It can also be used as a type of Mexican stew.
In Cuba, the dish includes the addition of potatoes, olives, capers and raisins. The meat is usually sauteed in olive oil and wine. Traditionally, Cuban picadillo is served with rice and black beans. People in the Dominican Republic often add chili peppers, olives, raisins, cider vinegar, and hard-boiled eggs.
The Puerto Rican version sometimes adds ham, cheese, raisins and olives to the basic meat and tomato mixture. The ground beef is browned in olive oil or sometimes annatto oil, which is made from the achiote seed. Achiote seeds are often used in Latin American cooking for flavoring and coloring. Puerto Ricans usually use picadillo as a filling for empanadas or pancakes.
Filipinos usually add potatoes or chayote to a ground beef and tomato mixture. Chayote is a plant in the gourd family that produces a gourd-like vegetable that is eaten cooked or raw. Sometimes carrots, spinach or other vegetables and fish sauce are added.
Here’s a basic recipe for a Mexican-style picadillo, which can be modified to taste with the ingredient suggestions above:
Ingredients:
1 kg ground beef (ground turkey can be substituted)
1 chopped onion
1 4 oz. can chop green chilies
1 28-ounce can of diced tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon of chili powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Salt and pepper to taste
To prepare the dish, brown the minced meat. Add the chopped onion, garlic and green chiles. Cook five minutes. Add tomatoes and spices. Simmer for 20 minutes and serve with rice or as a taco filling.
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