Another delicious, low-fat recipe from Healthy Latin Cooking — in this one, the ground beef in traditional picadillo is replaced with ground turkey. I was a little skeptical with the inclusion of raisins, but it worked really well. Lisa’s not a huge fan of green olives, capers, OR raisins, but she was singing the praises of this dish all night. We placed the picadillo on plantain “surfboards”: plantains boiled, then rolled out flat and baked until crisp on the outside. The recipe specifies to do the plantains one at a time, but I was able to do 2 by temporarily using a third pan when flipping them over.

Plantain “Surfboards”
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4 green plantains, peeled
6 cups chicken stock or water
1 tbsp olive oil
salt

Preheat the oven to 400. Coat 2 large baking sheets with nonstick spray.
In a large pot over high heat, combine the plantains and stock or water. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook the plantains for 20 minutes or until soft. Drain.
Place a plantain between 2 large sheets of plastic wrap. Gently flatten it by tapping with a rolling pin. Roll it out to form a large flat oval about 12″ long, 5″ wide, and 1/8″ thick. (If the ends break apart, push them together with your fingers.) Slide the plantain onto the back of a prepared baking sheet. Lift off the top sheet of plastic wrap. Lightly brush the plantain with some of the oil and season with salt. Place another baking sheet on top, bottom side up. Invert the plantain onto it. Peel off the other piece of plastic wrap, brush the plantain with oil, and season with salt.
Bake, turning once, for 20 minutes, or until crisp and lightly browned. (To flip, place a baking sheet on top, then invert the plantain onto it.) Transfer to a large serving plate. Repeat with the remaining plantains.

Makes 4

Turkey Picadillo
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1 1/2 lbs ground turkey breast
1/2 tsp cumin
salt and ground black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 tomato, seeded and finely chopped
8 pimiento-stuffed green olives, finely chopped
1/4 cup dark raisins
3 tbsp capers, rinsed and drained
1 tbsp caper juice
3/4 cup dry white wine
1 tbsp tomato paste

In a medium bowl, combine the turkey, cumin, 1 tsp salt, and 1 tsp black pepper. Mix well with a spoon and let stand for 5 minutes.
Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, onion, and bell pepper. Cook for 4 minutes, or until the onions are just beginning to brown. Stir in the tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes. Crumble the turkey into the skillet. Cook, breaking up the turkey with a spoon, for 3 minutes or until it starts to turn white.
Stir in the olives, raisins, and capers. Cook for 2 minutes more. Stir in the caper juice, wine, and tomato paste and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 6-8 minutes or until the turkey is tender and no longer pink in the center and most of the liquid has evaporated. Season with more salt, pepper, and cumin, if desired.

4 Servings