Picadillo Pie: My Quest to Invent a Starch Free Casserole

 
I consider this the first recipe that I ever invented, so I'm kind of (really) proud of it.  Casseroles are classic comfort foods and they're always good as leftovers, when you don't have time to cook dinner every day. But looking through the recipes for casseroles I know and love, all of them had one thing in common: multiple starchy ingredients. So I set out to create one that would work with the diet, and this layered casserole is what I came up with. It's based on Cuban flavors, with an American-style casserole twist.

Picadillo is a pretty generic name for a beef hash containing tomatoes, and many Latin cultures have their own version of the dish. The picadillo recipe I use is adapted from the recipe from Memories of a Cuban Kitchen.

Picadillo Pie
makes one 9x13 casserole

for the Picadillo:
1/4 cup olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped (sometimes I add in green onions too, it depends on what I have around)
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound lean ground beef, turkey or bison (the example pictures are made with bison-it's local and free range!)
1/4 cup dry sherry or dry white wine
1.5-2 pounds fresh tomatoes (about 4-5 medium sized tomatoes), chopped
salt and pepper (~1 tablespoon salt and pepper to taste)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground oregano
1/2 cup pimento stuffed green olives, roughly chopped

1.) In a heavy skillet, heat the oil over low heat until fragrant, then add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, for 8-10 minutes. Add the ground meat and cook, stirring, until browned, 10-15 minutes. I usually also add some of the salt, pepper, cumin and oregano at this point as well.  Use a wooden spoon to break up any large chunks of meat.
2.) Add the sherry, tomatoes and salt, and stir, and cook, uncovered, over medium heat for 15-20 minutes. Add the olives to the mix, adjust the seasonings to taste and continue cooking until most of the liquid is absorbed, 10-15 minutes.

to make the Casserole:
1 small head of cauliflower (or 2/3 of a large head)
5 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups grated Muenster cheese

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Steam/boil cauliflower in a covered pot with 2 cups of water until soft, about 6 minutes. Drain and let cool for a few minutes. Then use a blender or food processor to process the cauliflower until it resembles mushy grains of rice.
2.) Put the cauliflower in a medium sized bowl. Mix in the eggs and 1/2 cup of the cheese with the cauliflower.
3.) Spread about 3/4 cup of the picadillo over the bottom of the pan in a thin layer, just to cover it. Spread half of the egg/cheese/cauliflower mixture over that, then top that layer with half of the rest of the picadillo. Add the rest of the egg and cauliflower mixture on that layer, then add the rest of the picadillo on top of that. Cover the top of the casserole with an even layer of the remaining 1 cup of cheese.
4.) Bake in the oven, uncovered, until the casserole is bubbling and the cheese is starting to brown, 40-45 minutes.

{onions and garlic + green onions + ground bison}

{after adding in the tomatoes}

{I know this looks weird-it's because the farmers market cauliflower was green!}

{before the oven}

{after the oven}

Enjoy!