Cuban Picadillo Recipe

Cuban style picadillo recipe featuring ground beef that's dialed up with tangy tomato-based sofrito sauce, olives, and capers.

📝 Ingredients

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium red onion (diced)
• 1 cubanelle pepper (seeded, deveined and diced)
• 4 garlic cloves (peeled and chopped)
• 12 oz can no-sodium diced tomatoes
• 1 cup fresh herbs medley (basil, oregano, parsley, etc.)
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion (finely chopped)
• 1 medium bell pepper (cored and seeded, finely chopped)
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 4 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp smoked sweet paprika
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tbsp Kosher salt
• 1/2 tbsp ground black pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 cup dry white cooking wine
• 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
• 1/2 cup pimento stuffed olives
• 2 tbsp olives brine (from the jar)
• 2 tbsp capers

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. 1--- Make the sofrito ---
2. 2Add all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until salsa like consistency.
3. 3--- Make the Picadillo ---
4. 4Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, peppers, garlic, bay leaves, and 1/3 of spice mix and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes.
5. 5Add tomato paste and stir to mix well. Saute for about another 1-2 minutes. Add the cooking wine and deglaze the pan, scraping up any brown bits.
6. 6Add ground beef plus another 1/3 of the spice mix and cook until browned. Stir as necessary so that all the meat is cooked through.
7. 7Stir in sofrito, olives plus brine, capers, and remaining spices. Cover, reduce heat to a simmer and allow to cook for 15 minutes.
8. 8Discard bay leaves, then add fresh parsley and serve with rice.