Speaking of picadillo
Some of the posts on the Kitchen Forum got me thinking about picadillo the other day. Since I didn't have any ground beef, I made something similar with the ingredients I had. You couldn't quite call it picadillo, but it tastes great and makes the house smell terrific. The things that are born when what's in your fridge don't match what's in the recipe book!
Here's the recipe if anyone wants to try it.
Pork, ground or the cut of your choice, diced, 1/2 to 1 lb
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
Black pepper, optional
4-5 roma tomatoes or equivalent, more if you want
1/2 onion
1 chile ancho, soaked in hot water with a little each of salt, brown sugar, and vinegar
Cinnamon, a few shreds pulled off a stick
Oregano
Salt to taste
Brown or stir-fry pork in a generous amount of fat, with the garlic and pepper, if you are using it. When cooked through, remove from pan. In the same pan, saute tomatoes and onion until soft, 5-7 minutes. Add cinnamon and chile and fry another 2-3 minutes.
Dump everything from the pan in the blender and puree until smooth, adding some of the chile water if necessary. Return puree to pan, season with oregano and salt, and fry for a minute or two.
Add pork, cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer at least 15 minutes.
Serve with whatever you want. I like fried potatoes and whole wheat pita bread.
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