Chipotle Cinnamon Picadillo
If you're familiar with our Mexican Picadillo from a couple weeks ago then you're going to love this version! It adds a fiery dose of chipotle cinnamon flavor to create a unique, savory batch of home-cooked Picadillo. So good!
Servings: 8
Calories: 189kcal
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1 potato
- 1 carrot
- 1/4 onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1-2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1.5 teaspoons salt
- freshly cracked black pepper
- 1 cup stock (or water)
- 1/3 cup currants, or raisins (optional)
For the Tomato-Chipotle blender mixture:
- 6 Roma tomatoes
- 3/4 onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- 5 chipotles in adobo
- 1 tablespoon adobo sauce
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- 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. 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 (larger pieces will require more simmering time). Once the beef is lightly browned, add the potato and carrot. Saute briefly as you gather the additional ingredients.
- For the Tomato-Chipotle mixture, add the roasted tomatoes to a blender or food processor along with 3/4 onion, 2 garlic cloves, 5 chipotles, 1 tablespoon adobo sauce, and a pinch of salt. Combine well. (Here's more info on working with chipotles in adobo.)
- Add the Tomato-Chipotle mixture to the beef, along with 1 teaspoon cinnamon, some freshly cracked black pepper, and 1 cup of stock (or water).
- Combine well and simmer over medium-low heat for 20-25 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked all the way through.
- Take a final taste for seasoning. I added another 1/2 teaspoon of salt and a heaping 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon to this batch. Serve immediately.
- If you want to serve your Picadillo with raisins or currants you can add them to the beef mixture for the last few minutes of the simmer or you can simply add them as a final garnish.
- If you'd like to serve your picadillo over Cilantro Lime Rice, please see this recipe.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge.
Notes
I like having the flexibility of tweaking the flavor of this dish just before serving. So while you will probably need close to 1.5 teaspoons of salt to season the dish properly, I only added 1 teaspoon of salt before the simmer, adding the additional 1/2 teaspoon after giving it a taste post-simmer. Ditto on the cinnamon. I added 1 teaspoon of cinnamon before the simmer, and then added a heaping 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon post-simmer.
Using 5 chipotles gives this dish some real heat! If you want a milder version you can use 3-4 chipotles.
Keep an eye out for some currants. They seem to be less sweet and more tart compared to raisins and they are a great option for a dish like this.
Nutrition
Calories: 189kcal