Costa Rican Butternut Squash Picadillo
This Costa Rican Butternut Squash Picadillo is exploding with all kinds of exotic and bold flavors and filled with nothing but wholesome ingredients! A healthy gustatory experience you won’t soon forget!
In case you’re not familiar, Picadillo is a kind of hash that’s commonly served in many Latin American countries. It is generally made with ground beef, tomatoes or tomato sauce and a bunch of other wholesome ingredients that vary depending on the region where it’s being served.
Like most Latin American dishes, this one is bursting with all kinds of bold and complex flavors, cleverly marrying sweet, salty and tangy aromas with absolute perfection!
While you may find that olives and raisins make for a strange association, I can guarantee you that they work perfectly well together and will make your taste buds sing the most beautiful exotic songs!
The best part is, like most hashes, this creamy, comforting and unpretentious dish comes together super easily, and reheats super well, too!
Start by melting a few tablespoons of ghee (or use your preferred cooking fat) in a large saute pan set over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the ground beef, salt and pepper and cook, stirring from time to time, until the meat is really crispy and nicely browned — about 7 to 8 minutes.
When the meat is cooked to your liking, throw in the chopped onion and garlic and cook until slightly softened and fragrant, about 2 minutes.
Now add the diced butternut squash and red bell pepper, stir well and continue cooking for about a minute.
Next, throw in the diced tomatoes, water, sliced green olives, raisins, apple cider vinegar and spices and stir well…
Bring this to a slow simmer, cover the pan loosely and simmer for about 8 to 10 minutes, or until the butternut squash is tender and the liquid has practically completely evaporated.
At that point, you’ll want to remove the pan from the heat source and let your picadillo rest uncovered for about 5 minutes.
This will allow the remaining liquid to settle and the mixture will become thicker, more homogeneous.
All that’s left to do now is stir in a generous handful of chopped cilantro…
…and serve without further delay, with a side of steamed rice, cooked quinoa or even tortillas!
Oh, and say you wanted to kick things up a little notch? Well, this picadillo is particularly fantastic served with a handful of warm tostones!
Just sayin…
Costa Rican Butternut Squash Picadillo
Ingredients
- 1-2 tbsp ghee
- 2 lb lean ground beef
- 1 tsp salt, I use Himalayan salt
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 cups diced butternut squash
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 1- 28oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup sliced green olives
- 1/3 cup raisins
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 tbsp sweet paprika
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves
Instructions
- Melt some ghee (or use your preferred cooking fat) in a large saute pan set over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the ground beef, salt and pepper and cook, stirring from time to time, until the meat is really crispy and nicely browned — about 7 to 8 minutes.*
- When the meat is cooked to your liking, throw in the chopped onion and garlic and cook until slightly softened and fragrant, about 2 minutes.
- Add the diced butternut squash and red bell pepper, stir well and continue cooking for about a minute.
- Add the rest of the ingredients except for chopped cilantro, stir well, bring to a slow simmer, cover loosely and simmer for about 8 to 10 minutes, or until the butternut squash is tender and the liquid has practically completely evaporated.
- Remove the pan from the heat source and let rest uncovered for about 5 minutes, then stir in the chopped cilantro and serve with a side of steamed rice.
Nutrition
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5 Comments on “Costa Rican Butternut Squash Picadillo”
Thank you for this is was extremely good!
Love this recipe! I am a big fan of sweet and savory. This fragrant blend of spices, raisins, olives and butternut squash is so satisfying and easy to make. The only changes I made was I used ground turkey and golden raisins.
Should the butternut squash be cubed and cooked before adding it to the pan?
There is no need to cook it at all before you throw it in the pan…
Really delicious and quick to make. I backed off on the spices (sensitive tummy) and added black beans and black Nile barley to make it more of a one-dish meal. I’d love to have it with some polenta or corn tortillas. It is flavorful and satisfying. I’ve been looking forward to having it for leftovers every meal for 2 days now.