Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Papa's Beef Kaldereta (Beef Stew)

Kaldereta and a glass of red wine
I'm blessed with amazing cooks in my family.  I've been surround by delicious food all my life.  The best of the best...My dad's cooking.  I can't think of one single thing he makes that I don't love.  Of course he specializes in Filipino food although he makes a legendary roast beef with gravy.  For so long I've tried to make my Filipino dishes taste like his and I couldn't!  Even though he gave me the recipe.  The problem is...he (and all my aunties who are all great cooks) don't measure anything.  They do everything to taste and trying to get an actual recipe with specific measurements is like having soup with a slotted spoon.  Well, in last couple of years, I've started to become successful in replicating some of my favourite dishes...carefully taking note of my measurements for future reference.  Hubby loves Kaldereta.  It's probably his favourite Filipino dish.  This and mechado (a future blog post I'm sure).  And my Little Miss L loves rice.  She asks for it everyday.  So what is Kaldereta? (pronounced CUL - da - reh - tah)  Beef stew!  Beef and a variety of veggies in a savoury tomato sauce.  It's a hearty meal served with hot steamed rice.  This recipe is great when you're having company over because it serves 6-8 adults.  If not, leftovers are great the following day or two or can even be frozen.  Or you could half the recipe.


Papa's Beef Kaldereta
Prep Time: 15 min Cook Time: 1 hour
Serves 6-8

Ingredients
2 kilos chuck roast, cubed into 1 x 2 inches chunks (don't buy too lean)
2 onions, chopped
½ head of garlic, chopped
1 can 28 oz or 796 ml tomato sauce
2 bay leaves
½ cup soy sauce
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
12-15  baby potatoes
2 cups water
1 cup baby carrots
1 small jar of stuffed green olives
2 bell peppers (I like red), cut into large pieces
2 cups green peas
 
Instructions
Brown beef in batches in a large pot and set aside.  Saute garlic and onions in the same pan and add oil if necessary.  Add tomato sauce, soy sauce, bay leaf, black pepper and diced red peppers.  And beef back into the pot.  Saute for about 10 minutes then add  2 cups of water.  Simmer until meat is tender about 45 minutes.  Add  potatoes, carrots and olives.  When the potatoes and carrots are cooked add red and green pepper and green peas, simmer for about 5 mins.  Taste and season with salt and pepper if necessary. Serve over steamed rice.

oops!  I forgot the olives this time.


1 comment:

  1. My cooking NEVER tastes as good as my mom's or my mother-in-law's, no matter how many times I try to replicate their dishes so I know how you feel about your dad's recipes. This looks so yummy, Iv. The perfect comforting meal. I've had so many fails when it comes to making stew (I always buy meat that's too lean and it turns out tough). I'm going to pump you for info on buying good meat when I see you next!

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