Feb 25, 2010

Turkey Picadillo




Turkey Picadillo is a lighter alternative to traditional Cuban beef picadillo. It's great with rice and plantains, or as a filling for empanadas, tacos, stuffed peppers and more.

Turkey Picadillo
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 4 • Serving Size: 1/4 • Points: 4 pts
Calories: 178.5 • Fat: 7.8 g • Protein: 20.5 g • Carb: 7.8 g • Fiber: 1.5 g   
  • 1.25 lb 93% lean ground turkey
  • 4 oz (1/2 can) tomato sauce
  • kosher salt
  • fresh ground pepper
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 tbsp alcaparrado (capers or green olives would work too)
Sofrito:
  • 1/2 large onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves minced garlic
  • 1 tomato, chopped
  • 1/2 bell pepper, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp cilantro
Brown the ground turkey on medium heat in large sauté pan and season with salt and pepper. Use a wooden spoon to break the meat up into small pieces.

Meanwhile, while turkey is cooking, make the sofrito by chopping onion, garlic, pepper, tomato and cilantro. (I quickly do it in my mini chopper)

Add sofrito to the meat and continue cooking on a low heat. Add alcaparrado (or olives and capers) and about 2 tbsp of the brine (this adds great flavor) cumin, bay leaves, and more salt if needed. Add tomato sauce and 1/4 cup of water and mix well. Reduce heat to low and simmer covered about 15 minutes.
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23 comments:

  1. Thank you, THANK YOU for doing this blog! I just found it last night and I started using your recipes today. They are family friendly and low in points. Great job! I can't wait to tell everyone about this amazing discovery!

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  2. @bishopswife- Thanks and you're welcome!

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  3. Great idea!People just nee to make sure of the fat content of the turkey. There is good ground turkey and bad ground turkey.

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  4. does the brine come from the jar of olives?

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  5. This looks so versatile!

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  6. @Ed, I used 93% lean turkey for this.

    Yes, the brine comes from the olive juice.

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  7. Looks luscious,I will serve it with Brown Rice.

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  8. made this tonight w/rice and it's a winner!!! i can add this addiction to your chicken parm & mini-omelettes!

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  9. We loved this one!! Wow - it's so easy, tasty, makes a wonderful presentation, and it is destined to become a favourite!!! Thanks!!!

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  10. This was great! I didn't have any cilantro on hand (could've sworn i got some!), so instead i substituted most of the sofrito ingredients by using salsa with extra onion and garlic.

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  11. To the person who mentioned good ground turkey and bad, you can find ground turkey breast which only has 0.5g fat per 4 oz which is very different from general ground turkey (which can be more like ground beef in its fat content).

    Currently cooking this (I'm letting it simmer longer cause it's a Sunday and I have time) and I can't wait to try it - your recipes are always super!

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  12. Gina where have you been all my life!?!?!??!?

    My best friend made your Chicken and White Bean Stuffed Peppers last night and it was SOOOOOO delicious I begged her for the recipe.

    That lead me to your site where I found this recipe. One word: DELICIOUS. (This is coming from a native Floridan who knows her cuban picadillo.) I still can't believe it was ground turkey!!!!

    You have a fan for life! I can't wait to try more of your recipes....

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  13. Wonderful! Try the pernil to make a skinny cuban quesadilla!!

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  14. This was delicious. I love how it wasn't greasy at all like regular meat picadillo. My kids and husband loved it. Thanks!

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  15. LOVE it! I added 1.5 bell peppers chopped into the ground turkey (not the sofrito) and a few cups of halved cherry tomatoes to increase the amount of veggies and make more servings. Still delicious :)

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  16. hi -- this is great recipe. do you have a sense of how big a serving size would be in terms of cups? thanks!

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  17. Sorry, not without remaking it. Easiest way to figure out the serving size is by weighing it, then dividing by 4.

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  18. I made this last week and my husband suggested I add some raisins since the recipe reminded him a lot of the mixture for Peruvian empanadas and it turned out delicious! We served it over rice.

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  19. I'm surprising my mom with this for dinner tomorrow! Can't wait! I LOVE YOUR BLOG!!!

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  20. Josie Allen2/15/12 5:10 PM

    Thank you soooo much for this recipe. My extended family is Puerto Rican and Cuban so I've had this type of food all of my life. I just about gave it up ( due to my family's decision to eat healthier), until I found your website! Thank you for a healthy alternative thats also super DELICIOSO!:)

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  21. Made this Friday night for part of my 8yr old daughter's birthday weekend celebration. Both my husband and daughter couldn't stay out of the kitchen while I was cooking, they said it smelled so good. Thank you so much for the wonderful healthy recipes my whole house enjoys! Tomorrow I am going to attempt the Sante Fe Chicken and Chipotle Lime Rice. Love burrito bowls from Chipotle's so hopefully I can recreate my own =)

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  22. Very flavorful! I served this along w/ your Cuban Black Beans and Tostanes + Mojo Garlic sauce.

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