Saucy Beef Picadillo

 

I was thinking of something to make with my ground beef, and I remembered a certain blog post of my friend Kuya Dennis. His blog is actually one of the few cooking blogs that have Tagalog instructions, and reading it is like a (food) trip back to the Philippines, since he features Filipino food. I decided to try a dish he featured in his blog - Picadillo.

I had to substitute some ingredients because there are items that I can't get here in the US. I also had to veer away from the traditional "dry" Picadillo because hubby wants his dishes saucy. I don't blame him - I like mine with a little bit of sauce, too.

I think it is awesome that this is a one-pot dish. I am not a big fan of doing dishes (particularly pots and pans) so anything I can do to minimize the usage of these utensil would really make me happy. 

Anyway, the dish turned out great! Even my picky father-in-law enjoyed it. I made a big batch and we ate them to the last morsel. Yes, it was that good that we didn't mind eating it for days! ;-)


What you need:

1 lb ground beef
1 russet potato, diced
2 carrots, diced
1/4 cup peas
1/4 Vidalia onion, sliced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 whole green bell pepper, diced
1 can (454 oz) tomato sauce
2 teaspoons fresh thyme
1 tomato, cut in wedges
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
hard boiled eggs, for garnish 
fried plantain slices, for garnish


What to do: 

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Saute garlic, onion and fresh tomatoes for about a minute. Add ground beef, season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until beef is browned. 

Add fresh thyme and potatoes. Mix well. Pour in the tomato sauce, and the rest of the veggies. If it seems to dry out, add water, about half a cup at a time.  Lower the heat and let simmer for about 10 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Serve with hard boiled eggs and fried plantains.

Tips, Tricks and Tweaks: 

1. If using dried thyme, use less. Maybe just a teaspoon since the flavor of dried herbs are more concentrated.
2. Use quail eggs instead of regular-sized eggs! They're bite-sized and fun to eat. Higher in cholesterol, though.
3. When dicing veggies, make sure they are roughly the same size so they would cook evenly.
4. Instead of water, add beef broth to make your dish saucy and tasty.
5. Hubby suggested I add green olives or raisins next time.