A taste of the Caribbean

I am a sucker for out-of-the-ordinary dishes. I found this Caribbean dish in Calphalon Cooks Weeknights (1996), a cookbook I picked up back in my food demo days, thanks to the Calphalon rep! I love every ingredient and knew I had to try it. Note, I always use ground turkey breast – not the plain ground turkey. It’s leaner and drier and also a lot healthier. You can certainly use regular ground turkey. It’s imperative you let the dish simmer at least those 30 minutes to blend the flavors. I served it over brown rice. Next time I will stir in some black beans. If you are a WW member, this is a very point-friendly dish!

I was afraid my husband wouldn’t like this strange mixture – but he actually gave it high marks. I loved it. Tangy, thanks to the tomatoes, peppers and olives with a tad of sweetness thrown in from those raisins. Sure you could leave out an ingredient or two. But don’t. And remember to squeeze fresh lime juice over your plate – it truly “wakes up” the flavor.

Turkey Picadillo

1 tablespoon oil

1 large onion, diced (about 8 ounces)

1 large red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 small fresh jalapeno chile, seeded and minced

1 pound ground turkey (I opted for ground turkey beast)

1 14½-ounce can diced tomatoes

¾ cup fat-free reduced sodium chicken broth

½ cup golden raisins

¼ cup pimento-stuffed green olives, sliced

2 tablespoons  drained capers

1 dried bay leaf (optional)

½ teaspoon ground cumin

1 small fresh hot green chile, optional

Lime wedges

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat a 3 or 5-quart sauté pan or 10 or 12-inch omelet pan over medium-high heat until rim of pan is hot to the touch. Add oil and wait for about 1 more minute. Add onion, bell pepper, garlic and minced jalapeno chile; cook stirring often until onion begins to soften, about 8 minutes. Add turkey and cook until lightly browned, about 8 minutes, stirring with a wide spatula to break up meat. Add tomatoes, broth, raisins, olives, capers, bay leaf and cumin.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and simmer until flavors are blended (about 30 minutes). Garnish with whole chile (if desired) and lime. Season to taste with salt and pepper.