Beef Picadillo & Rice

📝 Ingredients

• 600 g minced beef, 5% fat
• 1 brown onion (about 100 g) + 2 garlic cloves
• 1 green pepper (about 150 g)
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes (400 g) + 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 60 g pitted green olives
• 40 g raisins
• 2 tsp ground cumin + 1 tsp dried oregano + 1 bay leaf
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 240 g long-grain rice
• 1 tin black beans (240 g drained)
• Salt, black pepper

🍴 Utensils

• Large sauté pan with lid
• Large saucepan
• Small saucepan
• Colander
• Wooden spatula
• 4 airtight containers

📖 Steps

1. Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic. Deseed the green pepper and cut it into small dice of about 1 cm. Slice the olives into rings. Soak the raisins in a bowl of lukewarm water so they plump up.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over a medium heat. Fry the onion and pepper for 5 minutes, stirring, until the onion turns translucent, then add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute without letting it brown.
3. Turn the heat up to high, add the minced beef and break it up with a spatula as it cooks. Cook for 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until there are no pink bits left and the released juices have evaporated.
4. Add 1 ½ tsp cumin, the oregano and the tomato purée, then stir for 30 seconds to wake up the spices. Pour in the chopped tomatoes and vinegar, add the bay leaf, season lightly with salt (the olives are already salty) and add pepper.
5. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes over a low heat, stirring occasionally. Add the olives and drained raisins, then cook for another 5 minutes uncovered: the sauce should be thick and coat the meat well, not runny.
6. While it simmers, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the rice for 11 to 12 minutes (or according to the packet), until tender but still firm. Drain in a colander and leave to dry for 2 minutes.
7. Rinse and drain the black beans. Heat them for 5 minutes over a low heat in a small saucepan with 3 tbsp water, the rest of the cumin and a pinch of salt, mashing a few beans with a fork to bind everything together.
8. Remove the bay leaf. Divide the rice, black beans and picadillo between 4 airtight containers. Leave to cool uncovered (1 hour maximum) before closing and storing in the fridge: they keep for 3 days.