Picadillo

Last week's recipe for tortas got me in the mood for Mexican food.  Which started me thinking about Southwestern, then Tex-Mex, then the cuisines of South America, and across the Gulf to the Caribbean and...plantains!  That was it -- I was craving plantains and needed an excuse to make them.

Now, I could eat a big plate of plantains with my favorite lip-searing sauce made from Scotch Bonnets, Busha Browne’s Pukka Sauce (I get nervous if there isn’t a full bottle of it in the cupboard, it’s so good.) and think that was a perfectly fine dinner.  But the M.E. is of the belief that plantains are best as a side dish.  I decided to be reasonable. 

This attack of reasonableness got me thinking about Cuban food...easy Cuban food, because it’s one of those weeks, and that, my friends, meant picadillo.

   

Interesting dish.  Clear Spanish influence in the olives and raisins.  Easy.  Delicious.  What else does a person require?  Oh yes:  goes well with plantains.

I found the recipe for Cuban-Style Picadillo here, and immediately set about messing with it.  Not too much, but I did feel more in the mood for ground pork than for ground beef, so that’s what I used.  If that’s not sufficiently traditional for you, talk to my attorney:

Actually, the picadillo was terrific made with pork.  My attorney stood by while we ate, inhaling picadillo fumes and imploring us to leave some.  We did, but it went straight into the refrigerator for leftovers. 

This is a good recipe, and goes together very quickly.  You won’t be sorry if you try it.  I cut it in half since there are only two of us, and left out the tomato paste (because I thought I had some in the cupboard but it turned out I didn’t), and it worked perfectly well anyway.  If you have a similar grocery list malfunction, just simmer the dish a little longer.

Wait.  What about the plantains?  They started this whole thing. 

I sliced them about half an inch thick, tossed them together with vegetable oil and a little salt, and baked them.  A little too long, dammit, because I was distracted by multiple other things at precisely the wrong moment.  They were still good, but not quite as transcendent as I’d hoped. 



Which means I need more plantains...

Comments

[kitkatknit]

OH I LOVE Picadillo and could literally eat it until I exploded.

[kmkat]

I LOVE picadillo. Must make it this week. I wonder if the la grocería local has them...

[Lydee]

you are inspiration :-)

[mary lou]

Plaintains! Yum yum. I never thought of baking them, less greasy than frying. I'll have to try that.

[bezzie]

Hm the plantains look really good actually. I'm not a big olive fan so I think I'd have to pass on this week.

[Chris]

Looks tasty!

[Guinifer]

Plaintains? We've never tried them, but they certainly look tasty on your plate - might be something new to feed the family.