Picadillo: A recipe for my fave go-to delicious and nutritious dish

Picadillo (not to be confused with “peccadillo”) is my favorite go-to dish. It is simple to make, tasty and nutritious!

Picadillo is an amazing Cuban dish, so named because its base is ground beef (beef that is “picado” or chopped up). Peccadillo is the word for an unimportant sin. I guess it’s fitting that the words sound alike because this dish is sensual and feels almost sinful! But the truth is, it’s really good for you and it’s absolutely delicious too!

It can be served over rice, in tortillas (for taco night), or as filling for empanadas(meat pies)—the possibilities abound!

Here’s how to make it.

Ingredients:

2-3 lbs. ground beef (pasture-raised)

½ onion, diced

3 cloves garlic (minced) or use 1-2 tsp. garlic powder

1 can 15-oz tomato sauce

8-10 stuffed pimento olives

1 handful raisins

½ cup red wine

Salt and pepper to taste

Diced potatoes (optional)

Recipe step by step:

1. Chop up the onion and garlic. Sautee them briefly and then add the ground beef into the pan. Pour the wine in.

2. Brown it all together.

3. Once it’s browned, add the tomato sauce, olives, and raisins. (The latter will soften over the course of the next 3-6 minutes while it all mixes together.)

4. Add salt and pepper, to taste.

5. Boil up some diced potatoes, just until soft. Strain the water and toss the potatoes into the picadillo to extend this dish and add a little Spanish flair (this is how they do it in Spain, trust me)!

Use this dish however you’d like. It’s delicious plain or can be used as enchilada or taco filling (as mentioned earlier) or to stuff sweet potatoes (just for fun). It’s amazing for breakfast the next day, too, with a couple of sunny side eggs to brighten the dish up.

Just typing up this recipe is making my mouth water. This is a savory, sexy dish that will serve a large family or stretch into several meals over the course of a day or two.

I recommend using all organic ingredients, and sustainably raised meat. It will taste better this way and nourish you more deeply, (without pesticides and herbicides or hormones getting in the way).

P.S. A simple way to upgrade the nutrients in this dish is by using ground beef with organ meats mixed in! (Organ meats are more nutrient-dense than just plain muscle meat!) I get mine from a local farm and from Force of Nature.

Provecho, my friends! (Enjoy!)