Picadilyo sa Patatas

Posted byNoriePosted inbeef, RecipeTags:

Picadillo-Filipino

(Picadillo with Potatoes or Giniling at Patatas)

This dish is so Filipino even though there are also Mexican versions of the same.  I think the major difference is the addition of Cumin in the Mexican picadillo which Filipinos don’t use ordinarily. 

But this dish is one of my comfort foods I like to cook and eat if I can’t think of anything else.  It brings memories of my childhood back in the Philippines. 

This particular one is dry but it can become a soup if you add water while cooking.  The ingredients are the same with the addition of your choice of cubed vegetables like cucumber, chayote squash, Upo squash, or potatoes. You can find the recipe for each here.

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb. ground beef
  • 1 large garlic clove, minced or chopped
  • ½ medium size onion, minced fine
  • ½ green bell pepper diced (optional)
  • 1 Roma tomato, chopped
  • 1 medium potato, diced
  • 1 Bay leaf
  • ¼ cup water or beef broth
  • 1 beef bouillon
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Saute garlic in 1 TBSP cooking oil or olive oil until fragrant, followed by the onions.  Cook until soft and transparent then add the tomatoes and the bell pepper.  Stir and press while cooking until the tomatoes are soft. 

Add the ground meat and saute until no longer pink.  Add the bay leaf, diced potatoes and add water.  Drop in the beef bouillon and heat until boiling then cover and simmer on med.-low for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are done. Stir occasionally to prevent potatoes to burn and stick to the skillet.  Make sure it does not dry out completely.  Add a spoon of water if needed.

Taste and adjust seasoning to taste.  The bouillon is salty.  Add a dash or so of pepper.

You can eat this with white rice or eaten with bread like a sandwich. 

Note: This is the simple version of this dish. You can add more ingredients in it if you like such as raisins, diced carrots and green peas. I opt to make it with only the above ingredients because my family doesn’t like raisins in it. Other people add sugar but we don’t like it sweet. The above is only the basic but you can let your imagination run wild.

Happy cooking!