Ground beef browned and simmered in blended tomato, with potato, carrot and peas that are already cooked. Half an hour, and it feeds four.
It is built on leftovers
The recipe asks for pre-cooked potatoes and cooked carrot and peas without explaining why, and the reason is that this is a dish for using up what is already in the fridge.
Colombian households boil potatoes and vegetables constantly, for soups and for salads, and there is usually a bowl of them left. If you are starting from nothing, put them on to boil while the beef browns and the timing works out to the same half hour.
Blended tomato, not tinned
Three cups of fresh tomato in the blender, skins and all. This is not the same as passata or tinned chopped tomatoes: it is looser, brighter and slightly raw-tasting, and it reduces down over the fifteen minutes of cooking into something that coats the meat.
Three cups sounds like a great deal and it is not. Most of it evaporates.
A kilo of beef
For four people this is generous, and it is deliberate: this dish is usually made in quantity because the leftovers have somewhere to go. It becomes the filling for papas rellenas, for empanadas, and for plantain canoes the following day.
Take the bay leaves out
Two whole bay leaves go in and they should come out before serving. They are unpleasant to bite into and they are easy to lose in a pan of ground beef, so count them in and count them out.
More ground beef
- Papas rellenas — where the leftovers go.
- Meatball stew — with cassava and saffron.
- Empanadas — the other destination.
- Carne desmechada — pulled instead of ground.
- Colombian picadillo — the same mince, chopped by hand.
Carne Molida FAQ
Because this is a dish for using up leftovers, which is how it is made in Colombian homes. If you are starting from scratch, boil them while the beef browns and everything comes together in the same half hour.
You can, but it is a different sauce. Blended fresh tomato is looser and brighter and reduces down over the cooking; tinned tomato is already concentrated and tastes cooked. If you use tinned, use less and add a splash of water.
It is generous on purpose. The dish is made in quantity because the leftovers become the filling for papas rellenas, empanadas and plantain canoes the next day.
White rice, always, and often a slice of avocado and a green salad on the side. It is a weekday lunch rather than a dinner.
They add a background note over fifteen minutes of simmering. If you use them, count them in and take them out before serving: biting into a whole bay leaf is unpleasant and they are easy to lose in the pan.
📖 Recipe
Carne Molida con Papa (Colombian Ground Beef and Potatoes)
Imprimir Pin ComentarIngredients
- 1 kg ground beef
- 1 cup onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 3 cups tomato, blended (fresh tomato in the blender, not tinned)
- 1 cup carrot and peas, cooked (leftovers work perfectly)
- 2 cups potatoes, pre-cooked (boiled the day before, or while the beef browns)
- 2 bay leaves
- Oil
- Salt and pepper, to taste (the recipe uses them in step 3 but left them off the list)
Notas
Instructions
- Fry the onion and the garlic in a little oil until softened.
- Add the beef and cook until browned, then add the blended tomato, the carrot and peas, the pre-cooked potatoes and the bay leaves.
- Season with salt and pepper and stir well.
- Cook for about 15 minutes, until the beef is done and the tomato has reduced.
- Serve hot, with rice.
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