Picadillo
681kcal47.6g protein40.5g fat27.7g carbs~$4.22/ serving*Estimates computed from the ingredient list; cost uses average US supermarket prices. Not a substitute for packaging measurements or your receipt.
sometimes contains gluten — check the label
Restrictions
Sometimes contains — check the labelgluten (chili (powder))Some brands have it, some do not. The recipe cannot tell, so this is the one you check yourself.
Diets
No pork
Worked out from the ingredient list. It knows nothing about brands, shared equipment or cross contamination, and it is not a certification — if you have an allergy, you still have to read the label.
Ingredients
Servings:
| 1 lb |  ground beef (80/20) |
| 1 ½ tbsp | olive oil |
| 1 unit |  onion (finely diced) |
| 1 unit |  green bell pepper (finely diced) |
| 3 clove |  garlic (minced) |
| 1 tsp |  cumin (ground) |
| 1 tsp |  oregano (dried) |
| 1 tbsp |  tomato paste |
| ¼ cup |  dry white wine |
| 1 cup | tomato (crushed, with juice) |
| 1 unit |  bay leaf |
| ⅓ cup |  green olives (pitted, sliced) |
| 1 tbsp |  capers (drained) |
| 3 tbsp |  raisins |
| ¾ tsp | salt |
| ½ tsp |  black pepper (ground) |
| 1 tsp |  white wine vinegar |
Optional
Not counted above. The dish works without them.
| 1 unit |  potato (diced small, fried) |
| 2 tbsp |  cilantro (chopped) |
| 1 cup |  long-grain rice (steamed, to serve) |
| 1 unit |  plantain (sliced, fried) |
| ½ tsp |  chili powder |
Steps
- Saute8 minmedium, wide skilletolive oil + onion + bell pepper, until the pepper collapses and the onion goes translucent with no color — this sofrito is the sweet base, and browning it here makes the finished dish taste roasted instead of round
- Saute1 minmedium+ garlic, only until fragrant; garlic burns in seconds at this heat and turns the whole pan bitter
- Sear9 minmedium-high, spread flat, undisturbed 3 min+ ground beef, pressed into a single layer and left alone before breaking it up — crowding or constant stirring keeps the meat below the temperature at which it browns, and it will boil in its own liquid instead
- Toast1 minmedium+ cumin + oregano + black pepper + tomato paste, stirred into the rendered fat until the paste darkens to brick — the spices are fat-soluble and only release into the dish through this step, and the paste loses its raw tin edge
- Deglaze2 minmedium-high+ white wine, scraping the browned fond off the pan floor; that stuck layer is the savor you built in the sear, and once the alcohol boils off the sharpness with it, the sauce reads as depth rather than wine
- Simmer18 minlow, partly covered+ crushed tomato + bay leaf + raisins + salt, until the sauce tightens around the meat and no free liquid pools when you drag a spoon through — the raisins go in now so they plump into soft sweetness instead of staying leathery
- Season3 minheat off+ olives + capers + vinegar, folded in at the end; both are already brine-cured, so long cooking would collapse them and drive their salt through everything — taste only now, after they land, before adding more salt. Discard the bay leaf