Picadillo

Tonight, I decided to make a favorite Cuban dish of mine, Picadillo. If you like Cuban food and have never tried it before, you have been missing out! I never had anyone teach me how to make it, but when I lived in Orlando, Florida I had it so many times from different places that I decided to dissect the dish and make it myself.

There are many versions out there which are made differently, and I have yet to come across any that I have considered bad. If you like sweet and salty food parings, then this dish is for you.

Ingredients:
1 small to medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 ½ lb lean ground beef or chuck
1/4 cup stuffed pimento olives
2 tbsp of juice from olives
1/4 cup raisins
2 large bay leaves
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce

Directions:
Place ground beef, onions, and raisins in a large skillet over medium heat and stir occasionally to break up beef. When beef is brown, drain any excess oil with a strainer. If you want it to be somewhat more healthy, rinse beef off with hot water. Put beef mixture back into the pan and add the tomato sauce, and then add water to the can and pour in the mixture. Add olives, the olive juice, garlic, bay leaves, and Italian seasoning. Let everything simmer together for 30 minutes so all the flavors meld together, stirring occasionally. While simmering, taste and see if you need more olive juice or Italian seasoning. You may need to add a little water as it simmers so it doesn’t get too dry. You want it to be a little saucy. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

When done, remove bay leaves. Serve with jasmine rice and sliced bananas. Yes…sliced bananas. Try it, you may like it. LOL I know it’s not the norm, but I highly recommend it. Oh, and don’t forget the hot sauce! Me gusta caliente!

The more you cook it and taste test it, the better you will become at making it. As with any recipe, adjust the seasonings to your taste and make it your own. That’s what I did, and am sharing it with you.

I actually shot a Snapchat video while making the Picadillo