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Salpicón is one of my favorite local dishes; it’s made out of beef stock that you get from cooking a cut of round-eye beef in a pressure cooker.  Once the meat is cooked, you leave the stock aside and process the cooked meat in the food processor to get a really fine mince. You add chopped onion, tomato, cilantro, and radish to your processed meat, all these additional ingredients are uncooked.  Radishes are optional, and some people also like to use a few spearmint leaves which gives the dish a particular flavor.

I hadn’t made salpicón in my own home until recently for one solitary reason. Pressure cookers scare me.  But, I decided to buy one and try not think about all the stories I’ve heard about them blowing their tops in people’s kitchens.  They have extra safety gadgets now, so I tried to convince myself that everything would be fine, and it was.

When I was taught to make this dish, I was instructed not to add salt to the pot at first, that instead, I should add salt to the stock when the meat was already cooked.  I am doing as I am told, so let’s all do it that way. Another tip I was given is when heating the stock at the end, to dump a small bunch of cilantro and let it cook for about 10 minutes, roots and all.  You can fish it out before serving, and it will give your stock a wonderful flavor.

I really hope our international readers give this recipe a try, you will love it. It’s actually a healthy dish full of delicious flavor and it is so comforting.  Of course, it is not complete if you don’t have corn tortillas, white rice a good squeeze of lime juice and some avocado to add to your bowl.

Helga

Salpicón

For the pressure cooker, stock ingredients:
2 lbs of round eye, cut into large pieces
Water (6-8 cups, depending on the size of your pressure cooker)
3 or 4 roma tomatoes, cut in half
1 onion, quartered
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
small bunch of cilantro
small bunch of spearmint
salt and pepper to taste

Additional ingredients:
1 white onion, finely diced
3 roma tomatoes, finely diced
10  small radishes, finely diced
cilantro, chopped (about 1 cup)
spearmint leaves, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
salt and pepper to taste
lime juice from 1 or 2 limes.

Sides:
2 avocados
cooked white rice
corn tortillas

Procedure for pressure cooker (stove):

1. Add all the stock ingredients to your pot, except for the salt, cilantro and spearmint. Follow your pressure cooker’s directions to set it up.  Cook the meat for 20 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat, let it cool, and let all the steam escape before trying to open the pot.
2. While the meat is cooking prepare the additional ingredients.  Dice the white onion, tomatoes, and radishes, and chop the cilantro and spearmint leaves, if using.  I like to blanch my chopped onions in a small pot of simmering water, and leave them there for about 2 minutes to make them taste milder.
3. Once the meat is cooked and you have successfully opened your pressure cooker, transfer the cooked pieces of meat to a food processor and process until it is completely minced. Reserve the stock, and discard the vegetables that were used for flavoring.
4. Transfer the minced meat to a large bowl, and add salt and pepper to taste. Add the additional ingredients to the minced meat and combine. Check the seasoning again.  You just made salpicón!
5. Now, we go back to the stock left in the pot. Adjust seasoning to taste, start with a teaspoon of salt. Add the cilantro and spearmint. Put a regular pot lid on top so it doesn’t evaporate and let it heat through over medium temperature. Let it simmer slowly for about 10 minutes so the cilantro releases all its flavor.
6. To serve:  Add minced meat mixture (salpicón) to a soup bowl, add some rice, and ladle hot stock on top until the bowl is filled. Serve with avocado and corn tortillas on the side.

Procedure for Instant Pot:

1. Add all the stock ingredients to the instant pot, and 6 cups of water.  Set it to pressure cook for 35 minutes on high.
2. Once the steam has been released (natural or manually) and you can open your pot, transfer the meat to a food processor, discard the vegetables, and reserve the stock.
3. Mince the meat in the food processor and add it to a large bowl. Add all the additional ingredients and mix well. Adjust salt to your taste.
4. Serve in bowls with white rice, and stock as a soup. Always serve with fresh corn tortillas and avocado.

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This post is also available in / Esta entrada también está disponible en ESPAÑOL (SPANISH)