Not long ago, I saw a spirited discussion on Facebook about online food bloggers.
The general consensus was that nobody wanted to read the person’s back story and long-winded tales from the kitchen—they just wanted the recipe.
Honestly, that made me a little sad. Not only because I was sure that means they are definitely not fans of anything I write but also because I tend to really like the stories that accompany food. To me, food and recipes bind us together as community—across all kinds of divides.
That’s why I really like the blog this week’s recipe comes from. It is written by Sonia Mendez Garcia, who grew up learning how to cook from her parents, who owned a taqueria in Texas. She explains on her website that the goal of her blog is to help maintain the legacy of her family recipes. It’s a very sweet tribute. Plus, if you read a bit, you find out that she has a pretty impressive resume as a cook.
The recipe I tried this week is one of her mother’s. You can find the original post on her blog, “La Pina in La Cocina,” at https://pinaenlacocina.com/moms-picadillo-con-papaground-beef-in-fresh-tomato-sauce-with-potatoes/. I added some extra seasonings to my version below.
Picadillo con Papas
Ingredients
- 1/8 cup olive or canola oil
- 1 large Russet potato diced
- 1 small onion diced (I used yellow)
- 1 pound ground beef
- 4 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- salt and pepper to taste
- 8 cloves garlic minced
- 2 large Roma tomatoes cut into chunks
- 1-2 Serrano chiles cut into chunks
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the potatoes and cover the pan, stirring every five minutes or so until the outsides are crispy and the insides are fork tender.
- Remove the potatoes from the pan and let them drain on a paper-towel-lined plate.
- Add the onions and ground beef to the skillet. Saute until the beef is cooked through and drain off any fat from the pan.
- Add the cumin, oregano, salt and pepper, and garlic, and stir to combine well.
- While the ground beef is cooking, add the tomatoes and Serranos, along with 1/4 cup water, to a blender or food processor. Process until the mixture is smooth, and then pour it into the pan with the drained beef mixture.
- Bring the entire mixture to a boil. Add more salt and pepper, if necessary, and stir in the cooked potatoes.
- Reduce heat to low, and allow the sauce to thicken for about 10 minutes.
- Remove from heat and serve over rice or with tortillas, along with your favorite taco toppings.
This was delicious, and the leftovers were awesome, too. It was a filling, flavorful meal.
We opted to eat our picadillo on tortillas, along with some fresh spinach, but as Sonia explains on her site, you can eat it all kinds ways, so just pick your favorite (or whatever you have on hand in your pantry).
I suppose, in the grand scheme of things, I can accept that not everyone wants to read little stories about every recipe they try. I mean, when you’re hungry, you’re hungry.
But the nice thing about food—especially family recipes—is whether you know the back story or not, eating connects all of us.
This piece first appeared in print on July 29, 2021.
Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.
