We were sitting on the deck last night and heard a transformer blow, then another. No power! I live in a 60s era house with an all electric kitchen (that I DESPISE), so this meant: no dinner. I had already done all the mise en place, so all I needed was heat to assemble the dish… To the gas grill! The dish turned out perfectly, I’m happy to say and the recipe is pretty awesome, so I’ll share it with you! No grill required, but it is pretty fun. Apologies for the quickie phone pix!
Spicy Carne Picada
1 pack (about 1#) of carne picada, which is beef that is barely ground and chunky. Kroger has it occasionally. Or you can use large grind beef – usually labeled chili beef.
1 Tbl cumin
1 Tbl ancho chile powder
1 Tbl chipotle powder (less if you don’t like spicy)
1 tsp dry mustard powder
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 Tbl garlic paste (find at Indian store)
2 Tbl olive oil
half a small can of tomato sauce
Veg
1 bell pepper, large dice
1 onion, large dice
3 cloves garlic, chopped
Tomato Rice
1 cup basmati rice
1 cup chicken stock
.5 cup water
1 tsp salt
half a small can of tomato sauce
Black Beans
2 cans seasoned black beans, drained
1 Tbl olive oil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 Tbl minced onion
1 clove minced garlic (or use 1 Tbl garlic paste)
S/P
Slice one green onion for garnish.
Break up the carne in a large bowl and add in all the spices and oil. Mix thoroughly and set aside. Prep the veg.
Rinse the basmati rice three times to remove the excess starch. You can skip this, but you’ll have fairly sticky rice if you do. Put rice, stock, water and seasonings into a 2 qt pan then bring to boil, reduce to simmer. It takes about 15 mins for basmati rice to cook. Follow package instructions. Spicy yellow rice is awesome with this, too.
Put the drained black beans in a pan and add seasonings. Heat up over medium heat and simmer until onions and garlic are cooked. About 10 mins.
Heat a large skillet over med hi heat and saute the onions, peppers and garlic for about 5-7 mins in olive oil. When they soften, push to the sides and add beef. Saute beef and veg until beef is cooked, about 10 mins. You can drain this if there is a lot of fat.
To serve:
In a large bowl, put rice and beans side by side and add beef on top. Garnish with green onion and enjoy!
