Picadillo [pronunciation [pikaˈðiʎo]] is a popular dish not only in Cuba, but also in the
Spanish-speaking areas and the Philippines. The name comes from the Spanish word ”picar”,
which means “to mince” or “to chop”, in Spanish this word is used for ”ground” beef.
So picadillo is a hash made with ground meat flavor to local taste. Its Cuban version made
with paprika and potatoes, and even raisin and olive.
It’s an extreme dish, in case you enjoy the challenge of new foods and recipes – it is worth the
attempt. Try it now, if meat with raisin sounds good to you! You can even omit raisin, create
this hash to your own taste.
- Prepare the ingredients first: finely chop the onion and the garlic, chop your bell
pepper into smaller cubes, peel and dice the potato. - Chop your bell pepper.
- Peel and dice the potato.
- Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a pan and brown your ground beef over medium-high
flame for 6-7 minutes. Take the meat off the pan afterwards, and leave the oil in the pan. - Put your finely chopped onions into the pan and sauté them for 5 minutes until translucent.
- Add garlic and continue sautéing for a minute.
- Add your chopped bell pepper, Roman caraway, cinnamon, pepper and salt to taste.
- Put your diced potatoes, stir the mixture occasionally and continue sautéing for 5 minutes.
- Add your brown ground beef to it and pour the white wine into the pan. Cook for 5 minutes.
- And now you add the sieved tomatoes and raisin. Continue cooking for 5 minutes.
- Add olive and cook over low-medium flame until its sauce evaporates. In case your potatoes
aren’t fork tender, add water – I added 250 ml (3/4 cup) – and continue cooking for 10 minutes.
Picadillo is usually served with rice or fried bananas. So I suggest you to skip banana and serve it with
rice!
Enjoy your meal!
Cuban Picadillo
Ingredients
- 1 pound (400 g) ground beef
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion
- 6 cloves of garlic
- 1/2 bell pepper
- 2 teaspoons ground Roman caraway (10 g)
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 potatoes (approx. 1 pound)
- 1/2 cup (200 ml) white wine
- 1/2 cup olive (100 g)
- 1/2 cup raisin (90 g)
- 2 cups sieved tomatoes (passata)
- salt
- pepper
Instructions
- Prepare the ingredients first: finely chop the onion and the garlic, chop your bell pepper into smaller cubes, peel and dice the potato.
- Chop your bell pepper.
- Peel and dice the potato.
- Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a pan and brown your ground beef over medium-high flame for 6-7 minutes. Take the meat off the pan afterwards, and leave the oil in the pan.
- Put your finely chopped onions into the pan and sauté them for 5 minutes until translucent.
- Add garlic and continue sautéing for a minute.
- Add your chopped bell pepper, Roman caraway, cinnamon, pepper and salt to taste.
- Put your diced potatoes, stir the mixture occasionally and continue sautéing for 5 minutes.
- Add your brown ground beef to it and pour the white wine into the pan. Cook for 5 minutes.
- And now you add the sieved tomatoes and raisin. Continue cooking for 5 minutes.
- Add olive and cook over low-medium flame until its sauce evaporates. In case your potatoes aren’t fork tender, add water – I added 250 ml (3/4 cup) – and continue cooking for 10 minutes.