| This one's from *Authentic Mexican Cooking* by Paula Holt and Helene
Juarez -- plus some variations from several assorted sources. Results
are most similar to how my friends' mothers made theirs back in Tucson:
1 tablespoon lard
1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
1/2 medium sized onion, finely chopped
2 medium-sized tomatoes, skinned, seeded, and finely chopped
1 teaspoon oregano
2 pounds ground beef
3 peeled green chiles, fresh or canned
1/2 cup blanched almonds
1/2 cup raisins plumped in brandy
Melt the lard and fry the garlic and onion without browning. Add the
tomatoes and oregano, and fry for a minute or more. Add ground beef
and continue to fry and cook over medium heat until tender. Stir
in chiles, almonds, and raisins, and simmer for 30 minutes.
Another variation uses 1/4 pound of chorizo instead of the lard,
chopped ripe olives instead of almonds, and tomato paste instead
of fresh tomatoes. This one uses 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, also.
Ortho's version uses fresh tomatoes, adds a chopped apple, the
cinnamon, and a pinch of ground cloves and some ground cumin (comino).
Barbara Hansen's is similar to the first one except she adds 2 table-
spoons chopped fresh parsley, 6 chopped green olives, and 2 teaspoons
of capers.
Yucatan style uses only one teaspoon of capers, 15 olives, and two
hard-boiled eggs, chopped.
Elena Zelayeta's is like the first one, but suggests deleting the
lard or oil if some pork sausage (e.g., chorizo) is used, 2 tablespoons
of vinegar, 1 teaspoon of sugar, pinch of ground cloves, 1/4 teaspoon
of ground cumin.
Net-net is that there are about as many variations for picadillo as
there are Mexican cooks -- best to experiment around the base recipe
which has ingredients to which you are partial, and/or which you have
available in your pantry.
Never heard of it over rice, usually as a filling for tacos or empana-
das -- but just about anything goes in this business.
Enjoy, Bill
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