How to make Brazilian-style ground beef

I have no photo for this post, so the flag will just have to do it.

To be honest, I am not even sure if this way of preparing meat is Brazilian or Argentinian. As I grew up in both countries, and my mother fittingly adjusted her cooking to both cultures, we ended up with a nice mix of recipes which I was happy to simply eat and enjoy. No matter where it comes from, the great thing about preparing meat this way is that not only it makes something as simple and mundane as ground beef taste great, it also makes it go a long way.

Ingredients... I use organic as much as possible, so as to avoid hormones, antibiotics and pesticides...

• 1 Lb local ground beef
• olive oil
• sea salt
• onions
• garlic
• olives
• raisins (optional)
• scallions
• parsley

I heat up a cast iron skillet on medium high heat. If you don't have one, buy one now. In the meantime, use a stainless steel skillet. Do not use a teflon skillet, as you will only poison yourself and your loved ones with it. Throw it away. If using cast iron, there is no need for olive oil. If your choice is steel, you might need just a little oil to get the meat going and not get it all stuck to the pan.

Once the skillet is hot, I turn the fire to medium, and place about a pound of local, organic ground beef on it. I let it cook, stirring it so that it cooks evenly, until it begins to brown, adding salt to it at any time I remember to do so. 

While the meat is cooking, I quickly chop the onions, garlic, olives, parsley and scallions, in the order listed. It works well, because once I chop the onions, I throw them in to brown with the meat, then chop the garlic, throw it in... chop the olives (which get the garlic taste of the chopping board), use whole raisins, and chop the scallions as well. 

When I see that everything is cooked, I turn the fire off, and add the parsley. That way it does not cook too much, and stays fresh and green- which is definitely more pleasing to see and eat than brown wilted parsley.

I serve it with rice, black beans, and lots of vegetables such as thinly cut cabbage with salt and olive oil,  chopped tomatoes and cucumbers in salt and olive oil, collards or turnip greens sautéed in olive oil and salt, and thinly cut radishes with... olive oil and salt. Always. Lots of it!