Picadillo: Where’s the Beef?

If you had lunch in your school cafeteria or went to summer camp, you probably didn’t escape childhood without eating sloppy Joes. Of all the institutional foods, sloppy Joes were probably the best tasting and best loved. You may even still crave them occasionally.

The sweet, barbecue-flavored beef packed into a bun would make a great back-yard entree for July Fourth. Or, you can heat the sloppy Joe mixture, spoon it into a vacuum container and take it to an evening picnic when you watch the fireworks.

What you’ve undoubtedly outgrown is the overly sweet and fatty taste of those early sloppy Joe recipes. Picadillo, a Southwestern dish, is a distant cousin to sloppy Joe (although many cooks will be offended by the very thought).

It has the basic meat in a sauce that’s slightly hot yet mellow. However, that’s where the similarities end. Picadillo has a sophisticated blend of aromatic spices. Dried fruit, not sugar, rounds out the flavor. And in this version, ground turkey, not ground beef, is the base. No oil is called for, so there’s no added fat. Heap picadillo on a bun with a side of maple-flavored carrots and improve on those childhood memories.

PICADILLO WITH DRIED FRUIT

1/2 pound ground turkey

2 shallots, peeled and minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 tablespoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon crushed dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons dark raisins

2 tablespoons minced dried apricots

1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce

1 tablespoon lemon or lime juice

Freshly ground pepper

2 hamburger buns, optional

Brown turkey with shallots and garlic in medium nonstick skillet, about 10 minutes. When meat is browned and shallots are tender, stir in chili powder, salt, oregano, cinnamon and hot pepper sauce.

Add water and scrape up browned bits in skillet. Stir in raisins, apricots, tomato sauce and lemon juice. Simmer, uncovered, 30 minutes. Season to taste with pepper. Serve mixture plain or on buns. Makes 2 servings.

MAPLE-FLAVORED CARROTS

1 1/2 cups baby carrots

1 serrano chile, cored, seeded and minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup water

1 teaspoon butter

1 tablespoon maple sprinkles

Freshly ground white pepper

Combine carrots, serrano chile, salt and water in 2-quart pan. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook until carrots are tender and only 1 tablespoon water remains, about 15 minutes. Stir in butter, maple sprinkles and white pepper to taste. Makes 2 servings.

Note : Maple sprinkles is granulated form of maple syrup. It is available in gourmet and natural-food stores. Otherwise, substitute 1 tablespoon maple syrup.