Picadillo de arracache is a traditional Costa Rican recipe made with arracache, a root vegetable from the celery and carrot family, grown from Peru to Costa Rica.
It’s an essential dish at patron saint festivals and children’s rosary prayers, with an unmistakable aroma that represents Costa Rican root cuisine.
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Costa Rican Arracacha Root Hash
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings
- Category: Main Course
- Cuisine: Costa Rican
Ingredients
- 1 kg of arracache (about 2.2 lb)
- 500 g of potato, in small cubes (about 1.1 lb)
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 sweet bell pepper, chopped
- 1 stalk of celery, chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1 teaspoon of cumin
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Ground beef or chorizo (optional), to taste (optional)
- Salted water for cooking
- Oil for sautéing
- Homemade tortillas, for serving (optional)
Preparation
- Peel and grate, peel and grate the arracache as finely as possible.
- Cook the arracache and potato, cook the grated arracache together with the cubed potato in salted water until soft.
- Sauté the base, in a skillet, sauté the onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic until tender.
- Add meat (optional), if using ground beef or chorizo, add it and brown it at this step.
- Combine everything, stir the cooked arracache and potato into the sofrito, mixing well.
- Season, season with cumin, salt, and pepper to taste.
- Simmer, cook a few more minutes over low heat, so the flavors blend.
- Serve, serve hot, with homemade tortillas.
Tips for getting it right
- Grating the arracache very fine helps it cook evenly and blend better with the potato.
- Cooking the arracache and potato together in salted water simplifies the process and saves time.
- Cumin is key to this picadillo’s characteristic aroma.
- Simmering at the end lets all the flavors fully blend together.
Traditional variations
- It’s traditionally combined with ground beef or chorizo, though a vegetarian version is also made.
- It’s served with homemade tortillas as gallos, or wrapped in plantain leaves.
How to serve
Picadillo de arracache is served hot, with homemade tortillas as gallos, or wrapped in plantain leaves.
It’s an essential dish at Costa Rican patron saint festivals and children’s rosary prayers.
Recommended sides
- Corn tortillas
- Rice and beans
Did you know?
Arracache is a root from the celery and carrot family, grown from Peru to Costa Rica, and in this country it’s consumed mainly as picadillo.
This picadillo is essential at patron saint festivals and children’s rosary prayers in Costa Rican tradition.
Frequently Asked Questions
It's a root from the celery and carrot family, grown from Peru to Costa Rica, widely used in Costa Rican cuisine.
Grating it finely helps it cook evenly and blend better with the potato and the rest of the ingredients.
It's a traditional dish at patron saint festivals and children's rosary prayers in Costa Rica.
It's served with homemade tortillas as gallos, or wrapped in plantain leaves.
