Picadillo

Ingredients

• 1⅛ lbground beef
• 6tomatoesstems removed, for the tomato sauce
• 1oniondiced; a small part for sautéing, the rest for the sauce
• 4 clovesgarlicpartly minced for sautéing, partly blended into the sauce
• 2jalapeñostemmed, for the sauce
• 1potatostarchy, finely diced
• 1carrotsfinely diced
• ¾ cupchicken brothor water
• 1 tbspoile.g. olive oil, for sautéing
• 1 tspcumin
• 1½ tspsaltdivided, adjust at the end
• black pepperfreshly ground
• 2 tspchili powder (optional)
• 1¾ ozraisinsor currants; simmer briefly at the end or sprinkle on top (optional)
• 3⅛ ozpeasadd in the last minutes (optional)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 390 °F. Lay the plum tomatoes, stems removed, on a baking sheet and roast for 20 to 25 minutes, until the skins blister and pick up a few dark spots. If you're short on time, you can use the tomatoes raw instead.
2. Put the roasted tomatoes in a blender with most of the diced onion, some of the garlic and the stemmed jalapeños, and blend until smooth.
3. Heat the oil in a large pot or deep skillet and sauté the remaining onion for a few minutes until translucent. Add the rest of the garlic, minced, and cook briefly until fragrant.
4. Add the ground beef along with part of the salt and cook, stirring and breaking it up, until browned and crumbly. If a lot of fat has collected in the pan, pour off the excess.
5. Stir in the diced potato and carrot and let them cook with the beef for a minute or two.
6. Stir in the tomato sauce, the ground cumin, some freshly ground black pepper and the beef broth (or water). If you want more heat, add the chili powder now.
7. Simmer everything over low heat for 20 to 25 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. Give it a stir now and then, and add a splash more broth or water if it starts looking dry.
8. If you're using them, stir in the frozen peas and the raisins or currants during the last few minutes and let them warm through; you can also save the raisins to scatter over the top at the end.
9. Season the picadillo with the remaining salt and more pepper to taste, and serve right away, ideally with warm tortillas.

Tips and variations

Picadillo takes to all kinds of tweaks. For a fresher-tasting sauce, blend the tomatoes raw and season it with ground coriander and Mexican oregano as well. Swap the jalapeño for chipotles in adobo and the cumin for cinnamon, add a few currants, and you get a smoky-sweet version that's lovely spooned over cilantro-lime rice. And if you're in the mood to bake, cook the filling down briefly without the broth, cover it with a pastry made from flour, butter, egg and ice water, and bake it as a pie for about 30 minutes. To serve: make it with peas, scatter fresh cilantro and crumbled queso fresco over the top, and pass corn or flour tortillas so everyone can fill their own tacos.