Cuban Picadillo

Ingredients

• Ground beef

  80% lean meat / 20% fat, raw

  24 oz or 680g

• Onions

  Raw

  1 small or 70g

• Garlic

  Raw

  2 clove or 6g

• Green bell pepper

  Sweet, green, raw

  1 cup, chopped or 149g

• Tomatoes

  Red, ripe, raw, year round average

  ¾ cup, chopped or sliced or 135g

• Fresh cilantro

  Coriander leaves, raw

  2 tbsp or 2g

• Tomato sauce

  No salt added

  ½ cup or 123g

• Water

  Plain, clean water

  4 tbsp or 59g

• Salt

  Table

  1 dash or 0.4g

• Pepper

  Spices, black

  1 dash or 0.1g

• Alcaparrado

  Goya

  3 Tbsp or 23g

• Cumin

  Spices, cumin seed

  1 tsp, ground or 3g

• Bay leaf

  Spices

  2g or 2g

Directions

1. Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the ground beef and season lightly with salt and pepper. Cook, breaking it into small pieces, until browned and cooked through; drain excess fat.
2. While the beef browns, finely chop the onion, garlic, green bell pepper, tomato, and cilantro.
3. Stir the chopped vegetables into the beef and cook over low heat until softened and fragrant, 3–5 minutes. Mix in the alcaparrado plus 2 tablespoons of its brine, cumin, bay leaf, and a pinch more salt if needed.
4. Pour in the tomato sauce and water, stir, then reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer gently until flavors meld and the sauce slightly thickens, 15–20 minutes. Adjust salt and pepper to taste before serving.