To make the prunes easier to chop I stick them in the freezer while I prep everything else.
Serve the picadillo on top of white rice. Here's the recipe for the rice!
Serves 2-3
Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, microplane or press to a pulp
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 cups white wine
1 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 bay leaf
3/4 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup pitted Castelvetrano olives, torn in half or quartered lengthwise
5 prunes, chopped
About 20 minutes before you want to cook the beef remove it from the refrigerator and sprinkle it with salt. Set aside and let it loose its chill.
In a large, deep skillet, heat the olive oil until it shimmers then add the ground beef. Break up the meat with a wooden spoon as it browns. This part is annoying but you want to break it up into little bits and not chunky small hamburger-like pieces. This will make the dish much nicer in the end. About half way through breaking it up add the garlic, cumin, and oregano.
Once the beef has browned add the wine, vinegar, paprika, and bay leaf. Cook for 5 minutes then add the tomato sauce, prunes, and olives. Cover and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.