Start by finely chopping the onion, red bell pepper, tomato, and mincing the garlic cloves. Pit and roughly chop the green Spanish olives if they aren’t already pitted.
Heat your skillet over medium heat. Add the ground turkey and cook, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon, until it’s no longer pink and just starting to brown, about 5-7 minutes.
Push the turkey to one side of the skillet and add the finely chopped onion, red bell pepper, and garlic to the other side. Sauté until the vegetables soften and become fragrant, roughly 3-4 minutes.
Stir in the fresh chopped tomato, tomato sauce, kosher salt, ground cumin, and bay leaves. Mix everything well to combine.
Add the green Spanish olives along with the olive brine. Stir to combine all ingredients evenly.
Lower the heat to a gentle simmer. Cover the skillet partially and let the picadillo cook for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Just before serving, stir in fresh cilantro if desired. Remove the bay leaves. Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt if needed.
