I’m Marie Segares from Underground Crafter and I’m excited to share a different spin on a classic recipe with you today. Picadillo is a traditional minced beef dish served in Spain, many parts of Latin America, and the Philippines.
Each country has a slightly different version. Some are soupy, others are spicy, some are served as a one pot meal and others along with rice or as a filling. My family mostly ate the classic Cuban preparation, but I was introduced to many other versions growing up in New York City.
These days, however, I don’t eat nearly as much ground beef as I used to, so I’ve recently updated my version with ground turkey. Since lean ground turkey is usually less flavorful and fatty than ground beef, I’ve made some other changes, too, to boost the flavor.
This is a great meal for a chilly night, and it also is a perfect recipe for once a month cooking. I’ve included some notes after the recipe with variations and serving suggestions. Enjoy!
Latin Fusion Turkey Picadillo
Recipe by Underground Crafter
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil.
- 3 small carrots, peeled and chopped, or approximately 3/4 cup chopped carrots.
- 1/2 large Spanish onion, diced, or approximately 1 cup diced onion.
- 3-5 cloves garlic, minced.
- 1 jalapeno or Fresno pepper, with seeds removed and minced.
- Salt.
- Black pepper.
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin.
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander.
- 14.5 oz. can crushed, fire-roasted tomatoes.
- 1 Tablespoon tart dried cherries, or raisins.
- 8-10 baby or fingerling potatoes, or 1-3 medium potatoes, cut into bite-sized pieces.
- 1 bay leaf.
- 8 oz. low sodium chicken broth.
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat.
- Add carrots, onion, and pepper. Stir to combine and sauté until onion is softened and translucent, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Next, add garlic, cumin, and coriander, and salt and pepper to taste. Stir to combine and sauté until garlic is softened and spices are fragrant, about 3 minutes.
- Meanwhile, liberally season turkey with salt and pepper, or your favorite poultry seasoning.
- Add turkey to saucepan. With spatula or stirring spoon, break turkey into small pieces. Stir and continue to break up into bite-sized pieces until turkey is cooked on the outside.
- Then, add tomatoes, dried tart cherries or raisins, potatoes, bay leaf, and chicken broth. Stir to combine.
- Bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover, and simmer until potatoes are fork-tender, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove from heat. Remove bay leaf and serve.
Variations
- Cuban variation: Add 1 Tablespoon of pimento-stuffed olives and 1/2 teaspoon capers with tomatoes, and omit the potatoes and chicken broth. Serve over rice.
- Soupy variation: Add another 8 oz. low sodium chicken broth (16 oz. total). Use a large saucepan.
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