June 21, 2006

Cuban-inspired dinner


Picadillo is also a popular dish in the Philippines. It’s made with lean ground beef sauteed and cooked with a chopped onion, tomato and garlic base. Diced bell peppers, carrots, and green olives may also be also added once the beef is cooked. Raisins are optional, not everyone likes this sweet addition. However, raisins are always added to another favorite Filipino dish called “menudo” but it uses diced pork instead of ground beef. The flavors of the menudo are quite similar to the picadillo and both are very Spanish in origin. When the beef has browned and the vegetables are tender, tomato sauce was added last to complete the dish. Season with salt, pepper and a pinch of cumin. Simmer for a few minutes to blend the flavors and spices together. Missing in the spread pictured above, were ripe plantains, usually pan-fried, an important ingredient in Cuban and other Latin American cuisine. Served with black beans, white rice, garnished with cilantro and eggs. I also served a small plate of cornmeal-breaded tilapia fillets with guacamole mixed with finely chopped sweet mango as an appetizer to our Cuban-inspired meal.
My plate of ( clockwise ) steamed white rice with cilantro topped with egg cooked sunny side up, black beans, picadillo and breaded pan-fried tilapia fish with guacamole and diced mango topping.

2 comments:

  1. Hi! It has been a long time since I cooked picadillo. Thanks for featuring it in your blogspot. Will include it in my menu next week.

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  2. I agree, it has been awhile since I cooked this. It's one of those easy, everyday ( but quite good, a favorite of everybody ) dishes we sometimes forget about. Thanks for your comment.

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