Picadillo, a dish using chopped shredded beef, clearly descended from the Moorish dish cooked with olives and raisins, but it also contains tomatoes and peppers - which in turn the modern Spanish have since adopted from the old world. Translations of different kinds emerged in Cuba, Puerto Rico and other parts of the Caribbean.
When I was a kid my mother would take me and my siblings food shopping in what is called "La Marqueta" in New York City and what fun it was. We enjoyed going out on these family outings once a week but more often during the holidays when my parents received a lot of company and the pots where constantly going and the activity was always intense. "La Marqueta was just five blocks away and it was a social hub for everyone Hispanic or not. It is important that you know "La Marqueta" is a derivative of The Market. The appropriate word is El Mercado.
Because we were a large family with lots of friends there was always the question, is there enough food to feed the family and friends and whatever friends of friends would visit? If a friend or cousin did not show up, on let's say Sunday, my mother would ask, does anyone know where so and so is? If you didn't show up she would leave enough food on the stove just in case. So that food was always plentiful although not lavish by any means. There was always rice and beans and almost always chicken or pork and very often Picadillo.
Picadillo was perfectly suited for long cooking and could feed masses of people. It kept us all happy. After the crowns subsided my mother would start prepping for the next day so that the chicken carcass of today became a wonderful soup for tomorrow with just a little imagination on my mother's part and so a new day began.
Picadillo was always accompanied by rice and beans (black, red or white or garbanzos). We kids mostly did not eat salad or greens despite my mother's insistence. We just wanted the basics, and that made us happy.
The Thanksgiving Day turkey was stuffed with Picadillo there where all kinds of other goodies such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, avocado, rice and beans and a number of salads and breads, all available, as much as we could eat. WOW! Then we would feast on flan, bread putting, egg custard and the grownups would have "cafesito" coffee, strong, with plenty of sugar in most cases. My father had his black. Sometimes my mother would drop and piece of mozzarella cheese in it. That was a very special treat, indeed.
Now for the recipe: serves six
1 small onion finely chopped
2 lb coarsely ground meat
3 tsp salt
Freshly ground pepper
4 tbs Olive oil
2 tsp finely chopped garlic
4 medium-sized green peppers, seeded, deribbed and finally chopped
1 tbs finely chopped fresh hot chiles - optional
6 medium-sized firm ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and finely chopped or you can substitute 2 cups chopped, drained, canned tomatoes
tsp ground cloves
1/3 cup pimento-stuffed green olives
cup seedless raisins
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tbsp capers
Saut onion and green peppers in olive oil for five minutes over medium heat. Add ground beef, salt, pepper, garlic, cumin, oregano, cinnamon, and cloves.
Cook for five minutes in a cast iron pan stirring until the meat is brown. Add tomatoes, reduce the heat to low, and cover and simmer for about twenty minutes.
Stir in olives, raisins, and capers and simmer for five minutes longer. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot over rice.
Francis Archilla is a writer with an interest in a wide variety of topics. He has been in Real Estate Development, Restoration, and also Fine Cuisine for over Forty Years. You can check out his latest website at Using Spices for information and helpful tips.
When I was a kid my mother would take me and my siblings food shopping in what is called "La Marqueta" in New York City and what fun it was. We enjoyed going out on these family outings once a week but more often during the holidays when my parents received a lot of company and the pots where constantly going and the activity was always intense. "La Marqueta was just five blocks away and it was a social hub for everyone Hispanic or not. It is important that you know "La Marqueta" is a derivative of The Market. The appropriate word is El Mercado.
Because we were a large family with lots of friends there was always the question, is there enough food to feed the family and friends and whatever friends of friends would visit? If a friend or cousin did not show up, on let's say Sunday, my mother would ask, does anyone know where so and so is? If you didn't show up she would leave enough food on the stove just in case. So that food was always plentiful although not lavish by any means. There was always rice and beans and almost always chicken or pork and very often Picadillo.
Picadillo was perfectly suited for long cooking and could feed masses of people. It kept us all happy. After the crowns subsided my mother would start prepping for the next day so that the chicken carcass of today became a wonderful soup for tomorrow with just a little imagination on my mother's part and so a new day began.
Picadillo was always accompanied by rice and beans (black, red or white or garbanzos). We kids mostly did not eat salad or greens despite my mother's insistence. We just wanted the basics, and that made us happy.
The Thanksgiving Day turkey was stuffed with Picadillo there where all kinds of other goodies such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, avocado, rice and beans and a number of salads and breads, all available, as much as we could eat. WOW! Then we would feast on flan, bread putting, egg custard and the grownups would have "cafesito" coffee, strong, with plenty of sugar in most cases. My father had his black. Sometimes my mother would drop and piece of mozzarella cheese in it. That was a very special treat, indeed.
Now for the recipe: serves six
1 small onion finely chopped
2 lb coarsely ground meat
3 tsp salt
Freshly ground pepper
4 tbs Olive oil
2 tsp finely chopped garlic
4 medium-sized green peppers, seeded, deribbed and finally chopped
1 tbs finely chopped fresh hot chiles - optional
6 medium-sized firm ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and finely chopped or you can substitute 2 cups chopped, drained, canned tomatoes
tsp ground cloves
1/3 cup pimento-stuffed green olives
cup seedless raisins
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tbsp capers
Saut onion and green peppers in olive oil for five minutes over medium heat. Add ground beef, salt, pepper, garlic, cumin, oregano, cinnamon, and cloves.
Cook for five minutes in a cast iron pan stirring until the meat is brown. Add tomatoes, reduce the heat to low, and cover and simmer for about twenty minutes.
Stir in olives, raisins, and capers and simmer for five minutes longer. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot over rice.
Francis Archilla is a writer with an interest in a wide variety of topics. He has been in Real Estate Development, Restoration, and also Fine Cuisine for over Forty Years. You can check out his latest website at Using Spices for information and helpful tips.
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