Puerto Rican Picadillo Recipes

PUERTO RICAN PICADILLO RECIPE

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic clove, red bell pepper, onion, and bay leaf and cook for 5 minutes or until soft. Add ground beef and spices and cook until browned. Add tomato paste, tomatoes, and olives and bring to a soft simmer. Let it simmer for around 8 minutes. Remove bay leaf before serving.

PICADILLO RECIPE (MEXICAN PICADILLO)

Steps:

• Heat a skillet on medium-high heat. Add ground beef and break up into small crumbles.
• While beef is browning add salt, pepper, cumin and oregano and continue cooking until no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in onion, garlic, tomato and potatoes.
• Add water and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer, cover with lid and cook for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are soft and cooked through.
• Garnish with cilantro and serve with warmed tortillas or rice.

EMPANADILLAS (FRIED PUERTO RICAN TURNOVERS)

Steps:

• Make the pie dough (skip to step 3 if using store-bought dough.) Start by pulsing flour and butter in a food processor until pea sized pieces begin to form. Pulse in the water a few tablespoons at a time until a ball of dough forms. Chill for at least 2 hours.
• Make the Picadillo filling. Start with oil, onions, and peppers in a pan over medium heat. Once onions become translucent, add sofrito and sauté another minute before adding ground beef. Break the ground beef into smaller pieces as it cooks. Add sazon, adobo, bay leaves, tomato sauce, olives, and water. Bring it to a boil before simmering with a lid partially on, for 10 minutes or until the beef is fully cooked.
• Prep the dough. Dust a clean surface with flour and roll dough out to about ¼ inch thickness and cut out circular discs using a large cookie cutter or small bowl. Spoon picadillo over half of each disc, fold the empty dough over top and pinch together with a fork.
• Fry. Heat oil to around 350 degrees before frying empanadas on each side for 3-4 minutes or until golden brown and crispy on the edges. Enjoy!