Hello everyone! They say time goes in fast forward after having a baby and that is exactly where I am at right now…stuck in fast forward! I haven’t had as much free time to blog, but recipes are starting to pile up into notes on my phone, so it’s time to get them where they belong…on the blog! I’ve been inspired by an array of ethnic flavors lately, so you will see some fun new things soon…with my southern girl twist of course ;-) Also, you’ll probably start seeing more recipes featuring the instant pot because, less face it, #imobsessed.
So, without further rambling commentary, please enjoy one of my new favorite recipes adapted from All Recipes. I was craving picadillo one day and couldn’t get to my local Cuban restaurant, so I made it with what I had on hand. You guys, this does not disappoint! I love topping this picadillo it with a few quick pickled onions and some cilantro lime dressing, but it is fantastic on it’s own served over hot basmati or jasmine rice. It’s also a fantastic way to use up some of those seasonal shishito peppers too! I got mine from Green Flamingo Organics and they are the best! Shishito’s are much like bell peppers: sweet with a hint of spicy and packed full of flavor! Feel free to use the green olives and raisins that you see in traditional Cuban picadillo recipes. If you are in a fun mood and have plantains on hand, fry up some maduros or green plantain chips to go on the side! This gets better the longer it sits, so it’s a perfect meal prep idea for the week to keep you full and your taste buds happy.
Cuban Inspired Picadillo
a delicious, sweet and savory, cuban-inspired picadillo
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp olive oil divided
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 onion, small chopped small
- 5 shishito peppers or 1/2 bell pepper chopped small
- 1 pound grass fed ground beef
- 2 tbsp kalamata olives chopped, can use green too
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries can use raisins
- 1 tbsp capers + 1 tbsp caper juice
- 1 can diced tomatoes with chiles 10 oz can
- 1 tbsp sazon seasoning* see notes
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 – 2 cups water
Instructions
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Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a skillet (cast iron preferably) over medium heat; cook and stir garlic, onion, and green bell pepper in the hot oil until softened, 5-10 minutes. Add ground beef into the skillet; cook and stir until browned completely. Stir olives, cranberries, capers, caper juice, tomatoes, sazon seasoning*, cumin, sugar, and salt through the ground beef mixture. Add 1 to 1.5 cups water (or more if very dry)
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educe heat to low, and cook uncovered until water has reduced and mixture has thickened, about 10-20 minutes (the longer the better for more flavor). Add remaining olive oil and stir. Serve over basmati rice with and topped with **quick pickled onions and ***cilantro lime dressing.
Recipe Notes
If doubling the recipe, use an extra tsp sugar
Do not omit the olive oil at the end. This helps bring a rice flavor to the recipe.
If using sazon seasoning packets instead of homemade, you may need to use less salt as the packets sometimes contain salt too.
*Homemade Sazon seasoning:
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp ground cumin
1/2 tbsp turmeric
1/2 tbsp chipotle powder
1 tbsp garlic powder
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp onion powder
Traditional sazon seasoning calls for annatto, but I find this ingredient hard to find, so I chose to use a mixture of turmeric and chipotle powder to mimic the flavor. Feel free to sub for annatto instead.
**Homemade quick pickled onions
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup apple cider or white vinegar
1 small onion, thinly sliced
Mix all ingredients together and let sit for 20 min – 1 hour before eating, shaking container occasionally to mix everything up.
***Cilantro lime dressing
1/4 cup water
¼ cup cilantro, chopped
Juice from 1 lime
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp olive oil
Mix together well and serve.
If you like quick skillet recipes, check out this BEEF STROGANOFF, TURKEY BOLOGNESE or 4 INGREDIENT TURKEY SAUSAGE SKILLET CASSEROLE!
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