Cuban Picadillo - potatoes

Method

• Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
• Peel and dice the potatoes.
• Drizzle olive oil on a foil-lined cookie sheet and then add the potatoes.
• Bake until golden brown.
• Next use a deep skillet to brown the ground beef.
• Break up the pieces with a spatula; you dont want large clumps of meat.
• Once the meat renders its juices, you should drain it in a colander.
• Throw it back in the pan and continue to brown.
• Season with salt.
• Once fully browned, put the meat back in the colander.
• In the meantime, cut the bell peppers and onions.
• I like to dice them into really small pieces.
• I like to run a few cloves through the garlic press, and then slice a few cloves on the bias.
• I like how it looks when you have a few thin slices of garlic throughout the dish.
• Drizzle the skillet with olive oil and allow the veggies to cook on medium heat until they become translucent.
• Add the bay leaves.
• Once the onions, garlic and peppers cook, add the meat into the skillet and combine with a spatula.
• Add the tomato sauce, vinegar, mojo criollo, and the wine.
• Mojo is a marinade that can be found in the ethnic aisle of your supermarket.
• It usually is a mix of sour orange, and spices.
• A little goes a long way though.
• If you cant find this, you can totally omit this ingredient.
• For many years, I made picadillo without it and it tasted just fine.
• I just like the flavor it adds.
• But again, this is totally optional.
• Let everything simmer on medium to medium-low heat for about 10 minutes.
• Then add the olives.
• I use a splash of the olive brine to add some flavor to this dish, too.
• Add the potatoes to the dish and incorporate well.
• Lastly, add the ketchup and raisins, if using.
• Mix everything together.
• Serve with white rice and sweet fried plantains.
• If you throw a fried egg on top, we call that a caballo which means on horseback.