Picadillo the Sequel

I've been making this for years, and have been eating it years before that when my mom would make it. Either I'm getting older and my tastes are changing, or this new way is really kind of awesome. Rather than a meat mixture over starchy rice, I've begun adding lentils to sort of "extend" the beef and add more nutrients. Other than the texture feeling less meaty, the taste largely remained the same. Then, I got this sprouted bean trio and used that instead of lentils. Actually, I replaced about half the beef with beans this time. To compensate, I increased the spices. We really love our spices in savory foods here. I also got some farro from my mom, and have never cooked with it before. Well, I'm sold. This is going to be the way we do picadillo from now on. Thanks mom for the grains, and sorry mom that we don't like picadillo the old way anymore.

The original post is here.

Picadillo mixture:
3 large beefsteak tomatoes, diced
1 large green bell pepper, diced
1 large onion, diced
small head of garlic, minced
1.5 lb of beef
1 cup green olives
3/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
2 tsp cumin
salt to taste (we had around 3-4 tsp, I think)

Grains & Beans:
2 cups of sprouted bean trio
2 cups of farro
about 12 cups water

1- Brown beef in a wide, deep pan on medium heat. Meanwhile, chop onion, tomato, and pepper, and peel garlic.

2-Drain fat off beef. Add onion and garlic to beef, and cook until onion starts to soften.

3- Add tomato, peppers, spices/seasoning, olives, and raisins, lower temperature and cover.

4- Add water to larger pot with farro and bean mixture. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat to med-low and cover. After about 15 mins, check to see that the beans have softened and the farro is "al dente". Cook longer as needed.

5- Toast the almonds in a small saucepan in butter over low heat. Be careful, it can burn if you leave it unattended!

6- When the beans/farro is done, drain excess water. Add picadillo mixture from the first pan into the larger pot. Mix it all together and top with almonds. You won't regret it!



Personally, I like it after it simmers a bit to allow all the flavors to mix, and the olives and raisins absorb some of the juices.