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Here's a great way to serve up a batch of Mexican Picadillo. The flaky pastry is a perfect match for the hearty beef and potatoes. So good! mexicanplease.com
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Beef Picadillo Skillet Pot Pie

This skillet pot pie is a great way to serve up a batch of Mexican Picadillo. The flaky pastry is a perfect match for the hearty beef and potatoes. So good! 
Prep Time1 hour
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 8
Calories: 538kcal
Author: Mexican Please

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. ground beef
  • 1 potato
  • 1 carrot
  • 1/4 onion
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 2 teaspoons chili powder (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon salt (plus more to taste)
  • freshly cracked black pepper

For the Tomato Jalapeno blender mixture:

  • 6 plum tomatoes
  • 3/4 onion
  • 1 jalapeno
  • 2 garlic cloves

For the pastry dough:

  • 3 1/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 6 oz. butter (1.5 sticks)
  • 1.5 teaspoons salt
  • 2 small eggs
  • 1/2 cup ice cold water
  • 1 egg (for the eggwash)

Instructions

  • Start by mixing 1.5 teaspoons of salt into 3 1/4 cups of flour. Dice up 6 oz. of cold butter (1.5 sticks) into small 1/2" chunks and plop them into the flour. Use your fingers to disintegrate the butter into the mixture but don't worry about getting all of the butter dissolved. Mix it in just enough to make the mixture crumbly with a few chunks of butter laying about.
  • In a bowl, combine 2 small eggs and 1/2 cup ice cold water. Add this mixture to the flour incrementally using a spoon or spatula to roughly combine.
  • Dump the mixture onto a work surface but resist the temptation to knead! Just combine it enough to form a cohesive ball. Cut into two parts and form a round disc with each half.  Cover with plastic and chill in the fridge for an hour or so. 
  • After rinsing the tomatoes and cutting out the stems, roast them in a 400F oven for 20-25 minutes or until you need them.
  • Saute 1/4 onion in oil over medium heat for a few minutes (preferably in an oven-safe pan). Add 2 minced garlic cloves and saute briefly. Add 1 lb. ground beef and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook over medium heat until the ground beef is lightly browned.
  • Chop the potato and carrot into smallish pieces. Once the beef is lightly browned, add the potato and carrot. Saute briefly as you gather the additional ingredients.
  • For the Tomato-Jalapeno mixture, add the roasted tomatoes to a blender or food processor along with 3/4 onion, 2 garlic cloves and 1 jalapeno. Combine well.
  • Add the Tomato-Jalapeno mixture to the beef, along with 1 teaspoon cumin, some freshly cracked black pepper, and another pinch of salt.  I also add 2 teaspoons of this chili powder mixture but that is optional. 
  • Combine well and simmer for 5-10 minutes, taking a final taste for seasoning.  Feel free to adjust the amount of liquid in the pan before baking; ideally the beef mixture reaches the top of the pan but the liquid does not.   
  • Remove one of the pastry dough discs from the fridge and let it come up to room temp.  Flour your work surface and rolling pin.  Roll the dough out so that it's a couple inches wider than your pan.  Sprinkle with flour if the dough is sticking anywhere.
  • Drape the dough over the skillet.  You can crimp the dough any way you want; for this batch I just folded it into a lip and tucked it inside the pan.  
  • Brush the dough with eggwash (1 egg combined with 1-2 tablespoons of water) and be sure to get the edges too.  Season with salt and poke some knife holes in the top for venting.  
  • Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the edges are just starting to turn darker brown. 
  • Let rest for a few minutes and then serve immediately.  Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge. 

Notes

Here are the tips to keep in mind for a light, flaky crust:   using cold fat (butter) to start with, using ice cold water, lack of kneading, chilling the dough before use, getting annoyed when rolling it out.
 
You can also baste the edges of the pan with eggwash before putting the dough on top if you want; this will help it seal together as it cooks.
 
You don’t necessarily want liquid coming up to the rim of the pan as this could prevent the pastry from cooking.  Feel free to remove some of the liquid if this is the case.  And if the opposite happens, i.e. not enough liquid for the potatoes to simmer in, then feel free to add some stock or water. 
 
The dough recipe will make enough for two pie crusts that can each cover a 10" pan.   I used half of the recipe for this dish and saved the other half in the fridge.
 
When rolling out the pastry dough, it's easiest to start in the center and roll outwards.

Nutrition

Calories: 538kcal