Picadillo de Papa
A homey side of finely diced potato sautéed with a little ground beef, sweet pepper, and cilantro until tender and dry — perfect spooned into a warm tortilla to make a gallo.
Ingredients
- 3 potatoes (peeled and finely diced)
- 1/2 lbground beef
- 1/2 cuponion (finely diced)
- 1/2 cupred bell pepper (finely diced)
- 3 clovesgarlic (minced)
- 1 tbspSalsa Lizano
- 1/2 tspcumin
- 1/4 cupcilantro (chopped)
- 2 tbspoil
- salt and pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- 1
Dice the potatoes small and even (about 1/4 inch) so they cook quickly and evenly — the fine dice is what defines a picadillo.
- 2
Brown the ground beef in a little oil over medium heat, breaking it up. (For a vegetarian version, skip the beef and add a bit more oil and seasoning.)
- 3
Add finely diced onion, sweet pepper, and garlic with the cumin and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
05:00 - 4
Stir in the diced potato and Salsa Lizano with a small splash of water. Cover and cook, stirring now and then, until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.
15:00 - 5
Uncover and cook off any remaining liquid so the picadillo is dry and a little crusty in spots. Fold in cilantro, adjust salt, and serve as a side or as a gallo filling in a corn tortilla.
Notes
'Picadillo' just means finely chopped — the same method works with chayote, green beans, arracache, or ayote, and each is a Tico classic. Keep the dice small and finish dry so it holds in a tortilla. A little beef goes a long way; this is humble, economical home cooking. Photo: Aleat88, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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