Microwave Cuban picadillo with rice
Ground beef simmered with tomato, cumin, sweet raisins and briny olives, the Cuban home-cooking classic that’s salty, sweet and savory in every bite.
- 18 min total
- 8 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 1
- About $3.19 a serving
- 540 calories
- Good the next day
- Gluten-free
- Dairy-free
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 1 servings.
- 4 oz 85/15 ground beef
- ⅓ cup frozen pepper and onion blend
- ⅓ cup tomato sauce
- 1 tbsp raisins
- ½ oz Kalamata olives, about 5 olives
- 1 cup microwave rice pouches, half an 8.8 oz pouch
- 1 tsp capers (optional)
From your pantry
- ¼ tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp dried oregano
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- 1 pinch salt
Each serving has about 540 calories, 27 g protein, 57 g carbs and 23 g fat, and costs about $3.19 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No 85/15 ground beef? 90/10 ground beef works.
- No tomato sauce? Crushed tomatoes work.
- No raisins? Dried cranberries work.
- No Kalamata olives? Black olives work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the beef into a microwave-safe bowl with the frozen peppers and onions, cover with a paper towel, and microwave 2 minutes.
Crumble. Crumbling means breaking food into small, rough bits with your fingers or a spoon, like feta or ground meat in the pan. Small bits spread through the dish, so there’s some in every bite.
How you’ll know: The pieces are small and uneven, about pea-size, with no big clumps left.
Timer: 2 min
Food safety: Wash your hands, the board and the knife with hot soapy water after touching raw meat, and don’t rinse raw chicken in the sink.
Break the meat up with the fork and microwave 1 to 2 minutes more, until no pink is left anywhere.
Timer: 1 min 30 sec
Dolly’s tip: Stir from the edges in. The middle of the bowl cooks last in a microwave.Food safety: Ground beef, pork and lamb are done at 160°F. When it’s cooked through there’s no pink left anywhere in the pan.
Tip the bowl over a wad of paper towel to pour off the fat, holding the meat back with the fork.
in the tomato sauce, cumin, oregano, garlic powder, salt and raisins.
Stir. Stirring means moving food around with a spoon or spatula so it cooks evenly and doesn’t stick. Unless the recipe says constantly, every so often is plenty, and it gives food time to brown.
How you’ll know: When you drag the spoon across the bottom, nothing is sticking or scorching.
Tear the olives in half over the bowl with your fingers and add them with the capers.
Dolly’s tip: Sweet raisins and salty olives together sound odd. Trust it; that’s the whole point of picadillo.Cover and microwave 2 minutes, stir, then 1 minute more, until the sauce is thick and bubbling.
Timer: 2 min
Heat the rice in its pouch as the package says, usually 90 seconds, tip half into a bowl, and pile the picadillo on top.
Timer: 1 min 30 sec
Eat it hot, or cool it, cover it and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Dolly’s tip: Picadillo tastes even better the next day once the flavors settle.Food safety: Put leftovers in the fridge within 2 hours and eat them within 3 to 4 days. Reheat until steaming hot, 165°F.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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