Picadillo

We’re in the midst of what could be a serious rain/windstorm for the next few days, the remnants of a typhoon. I got some hamburgers out of the freezer for dinner last night. The last thing I wanted to do was to stand on the upper deck in the rain and grill them. So I made picadillo, a classic pan-Latin American dish.
Picadillo is very easy to make, and cleans out the produce bin quite nicely. Start by breaking up that ground beef (or pork, turkey, chicken–hell, you can even use tofu if you must) and browning it in a frying pan. Chop up some onions and garlic, and throw them in the pan once the meat has started to brown. You can also add chopped bell pepper, jalapeño, celery, or whatever else needs to get used up. I had one whole bottled pimiento that I chopped and added to the pan. Once the onions become translucent, stir in a can of diced or stewed tomatoes. I used a can of tomatoes with green chiles. If you have them, you can use a can of Ro-Tel tomatoes, but that may be a bit strong for chile wimps. Add a little oregano and a bay leaf. No salt needed, for reasons that will become clear shortly. Bring the mixture to a boil, and then simmer while you make the rest of dinner. I made a pot of rice and roasted some parsnips and carrots (snips and rots, as we call them at Casa Sammamish). About 10 minutes before you’re ready to eat, stir in some sliced green pimiento-stuffed olives, capers, and a handful of raisins. The key to a good picadillo is a balance between salty and sweet. The olives and capers will supply the salt. The final picadillo should be fairly dry, not soupy. The raisins will absorb some of the liquid. Once your sides are done, dinner is ready. You can garnish the picadillo with parsley, cilantro, or cheese, roll it in tortillas, or serve it atop rice.

This recipe is very scalable. For the two of us, 1 pound of meat and a 14-ounce can of tomatoes gives us enough for a meal and leftovers. For a larger household, double those main proportions and add as many accoutrements as you have in the fridge. ¡Buen provecho!