hornian
1,000+ Posts
Alright, I've promised many this recipe. It's not like it's a prized family recipe, it's just that I don't make it all that often and haven't remembered to chronicle what I do when I make it most of the time. Be that as it may...
You'll probably be surprised by some of the ingredients in the dish. I was the first time I ever made it. I used to think it was just beef and onions and potatoes and maybe some spices. Boy was I wrong. And there's stuff in here I never would have thought to combine. Cinnamon and capers? WTF? But it all works. It's one of the best dishes I know how to make, and everyone who has ever eaten it has been amazed when I told them what all was in there. You'd never know unless you watched me make it, but it all combines to a good, hearty, delicious dish.
Ingredients:
2 pounds ground beef
1 onion, chopped (I use white onions)
1 green bell peppers, chopped
1 jalepeno, chopped
garlic, minced (Alot. I use the pre-minced suff and do about two heaping spoonfuls)
~5 oz green olives, minced
~1-2 oz capers, rinsed, drained, minced
canned tomatoes, 2 cans (15 oz cans) half drained
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup hot sauce (I prefer Cholula)
1 tbsp cumin powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
2 bay leaves
See, told you that there was a bunch of stuff in there you'd never guess.
Alright first things first, I grab my version of the "trinity" or "sofrito" with peppers, onions, and garlic:
I chop the onions and peppers pretty well. You don't want big bites, it should be pretty small:
Add the peppers and the onions into a deep skillet with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. I don't add the garlic at the beginning, because I have a tendency to burn the garlic because I'm off doing other things and don't watch it as much as I should:
After the onions and peppers have cooked a bit, I add the garlic and cook it for a few more minutes, when it's done I take it out of the skillet and set it aside:
While that is cooking, I get my "olive sauce" ready. Here's what goes in there. Olives, capers, vinegar,Cholula, the bay leaves, cumin, cinnamon, cloves, and of course salt and pepper (not pictured):
I start by mincing up both the olives and the capers. I mince them up pretty well.
I add the minced olives and capers and all the rest of the vinegar, hot sauce, and spices in a sauce pan, and simmer it for about 10 minutes.
While the sauce is simmering, I brown the beef in the skillet that I cooked the peppers, onions and garlic in (remember, I took them out of the skillet after I cooked them):
About 10 minutes later, the beef is browned, and the sauce is ready. I add the pepper/onion mix and the olive mix back into the same skillet with the beef and stir it around.:
Finally, I add the 2 cans of diced tomatoes, and stir some more:
3/hf/rustys/picadillo/CIMG2159.jpg">
That's it, I cover it and let it cook on medium to low heat for an hour or so, or basically until the juice from the tomatoes is pretty much gone. I probably checked it and stirred about 4 or 5 times during that hour to stir it and taste test it, but other than that it's pretty much good to go on its own. After the hour, this is what you're left with:
Now there's plenty of ways to serve this. Put in tortillas and make tacos, or serve it over rice, or put it on a hamburger bun and make it into a mexican sloppy joe. I've done all these and more. But today I wasn't trying to impress anyone, so I just put some in a bowl and ate it like that:
It hit the spot. Lots of good flavor, some right up front, some more subtle. Every now and again I find a piece of olive, but for the most part you'd never know they were in there. The capers just turn into flavor, there's no caper-like texture at all. The cinnamon and cloves and cumin all combine and add some nice undertones.
You can add some chopped potatoes as well, but I didn't have any on hand. And the recipe I have doesn't actually call for them, but it's pretty much a meal unto itself if you add the potatoes.
It's not the easiest dish to make, and it takes a bit longer than most of the food I make (I can usually whip something up in around half an hour), but I think it's well worth the effort.
You'll probably be surprised by some of the ingredients in the dish. I was the first time I ever made it. I used to think it was just beef and onions and potatoes and maybe some spices. Boy was I wrong. And there's stuff in here I never would have thought to combine. Cinnamon and capers? WTF? But it all works. It's one of the best dishes I know how to make, and everyone who has ever eaten it has been amazed when I told them what all was in there. You'd never know unless you watched me make it, but it all combines to a good, hearty, delicious dish.
Ingredients:
2 pounds ground beef
1 onion, chopped (I use white onions)
1 green bell peppers, chopped
1 jalepeno, chopped
garlic, minced (Alot. I use the pre-minced suff and do about two heaping spoonfuls)
~5 oz green olives, minced
~1-2 oz capers, rinsed, drained, minced
canned tomatoes, 2 cans (15 oz cans) half drained
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup hot sauce (I prefer Cholula)
1 tbsp cumin powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
2 bay leaves
See, told you that there was a bunch of stuff in there you'd never guess.
Alright first things first, I grab my version of the "trinity" or "sofrito" with peppers, onions, and garlic:
I chop the onions and peppers pretty well. You don't want big bites, it should be pretty small:
Add the peppers and the onions into a deep skillet with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. I don't add the garlic at the beginning, because I have a tendency to burn the garlic because I'm off doing other things and don't watch it as much as I should:
After the onions and peppers have cooked a bit, I add the garlic and cook it for a few more minutes, when it's done I take it out of the skillet and set it aside:
While that is cooking, I get my "olive sauce" ready. Here's what goes in there. Olives, capers, vinegar,Cholula, the bay leaves, cumin, cinnamon, cloves, and of course salt and pepper (not pictured):
I start by mincing up both the olives and the capers. I mince them up pretty well.
I add the minced olives and capers and all the rest of the vinegar, hot sauce, and spices in a sauce pan, and simmer it for about 10 minutes.
While the sauce is simmering, I brown the beef in the skillet that I cooked the peppers, onions and garlic in (remember, I took them out of the skillet after I cooked them):
About 10 minutes later, the beef is browned, and the sauce is ready. I add the pepper/onion mix and the olive mix back into the same skillet with the beef and stir it around.:
Finally, I add the 2 cans of diced tomatoes, and stir some more:
3/hf/rustys/picadillo/CIMG2159.jpg">
That's it, I cover it and let it cook on medium to low heat for an hour or so, or basically until the juice from the tomatoes is pretty much gone. I probably checked it and stirred about 4 or 5 times during that hour to stir it and taste test it, but other than that it's pretty much good to go on its own. After the hour, this is what you're left with:
Now there's plenty of ways to serve this. Put in tortillas and make tacos, or serve it over rice, or put it on a hamburger bun and make it into a mexican sloppy joe. I've done all these and more. But today I wasn't trying to impress anyone, so I just put some in a bowl and ate it like that:
It hit the spot. Lots of good flavor, some right up front, some more subtle. Every now and again I find a piece of olive, but for the most part you'd never know they were in there. The capers just turn into flavor, there's no caper-like texture at all. The cinnamon and cloves and cumin all combine and add some nice undertones.
You can add some chopped potatoes as well, but I didn't have any on hand. And the recipe I have doesn't actually call for them, but it's pretty much a meal unto itself if you add the potatoes.
It's not the easiest dish to make, and it takes a bit longer than most of the food I make (I can usually whip something up in around half an hour), but I think it's well worth the effort.
