Picadillo - Meat Hash

Today I am cooking up Picadillo. It is one of my favorites and easy to make. My daughter loves it with white rice. She, of course, thinks it is chicken and who am I to tell her any different. This version has raisins and the olives. I love getting a bite that has a raisin and an olive in it. There is just something absolutely delicious about the sweet and salty mix. I don't like olives, but somehow they just taste divine in this dish. It is the only time you will ever catch me eating an olive.



Some Cuban restaurants add potato cubes, but I don't. You can also fry up a sunny side up egg and place it above the Picadillo and rice. That is called, Picadillo Al Caballo.

You will need ground beef, garlic, raisins, a small onion, white cooking wine, tomato sauce, olive oil, olives with a pimiento center, ground cumin, ground oregano, and Sazon Completo.

Finely chop up the onion. You should get about 1/2 cup. By the time I was done chopping the onion, I looked like I had just finished seeing the hospital scene when Debra Winger dies in Term of Endearment. I was a mess.

Finely mince about 4 cloves of garlic. You should have a well rounded tablespoon of garlic. I love garlic!

Now you are going to make a Sofrito. Add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a pan over medium heat. When the olive oil starts heating up, add the onion and cook until it starts to get translucent. Then add your garlic and cook for about 1 minute. Add 3 tablespoons of tomato sauce and cook for about 2 minutes.

Add the beef and use your wooden spoon to break up the pieces.

Add ground oregano, ground cumin, Sazon Completo, and white wine. Mix it all together.

Add the rest of the tomato sauce and mix it all in. Cook until the meat starts to brown. About 10 minutes.

Add the raisins.

Add the olives. Mix it all together. Cover the pan and lower the heat to medium low. Allow the flavors to blend.

I like to eat the Picadillo over a bed of white rice. Enjoy!

PICADILLO

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef (I use ground sirloin)


• 2 tablespoons olive oil


• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion (about 1 small onion)


• 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic (about 4 cloves)


• dash of ground oregano


• 1/2 scant teaspoon ground cumin


• 8 oz can of tomato sauce (divided)


• 1/4 cup raisins


• 1/4 cup olives with pimiento, halved


• 2 teaspoons Sazon Completo


• 1/4 cup white cooking wine

Preparation

• Heat olive oil in a pan at medium heat. Add the onions and cook until they begin to get translucent. Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute. Add 3 tablespoons of tomato sauce and cook for about 2 minutes.
• Add the ground beef and break up any large pieces with a wooden spoon.
• Add the wine, the Sazon Completo, ground oregano, ground cumin and mix together with a wooden spoon.
• Add the remaining tomato sauce and blend together. Cook until the meat begins to brown, about 10 minutes.
• Add the raisins and olives. Cover and lower the heat to allow the flavors to blend.
• Serve over a bed of white rice.