Caldereta: Filipino Comfort Food

Last night I made a dish I grew up with but have always been too intimidated to try: a stew called caldereta, derived from the Spanish word caldero (cooking pot). My family devoured it over sticky white rice and went back for seconds. It goes nicely with a Spanish Rioja - Ergo Tempranillo 2006 is delicious. Traditionally we're supposed to use goat meat for this but I stuck with beef. It would probably work with lamb or chicken too. There are recipes here and here for it. This was mine (concocted after reading Kulinarya by Barretto et al. and the wonderful little volume Filipino Homestyle Dishes by Norma Olizon-Chikiamco):

Caldereta (or, if you want to spell it the Tagalog way, Kaldereta)

Ingredients:

• 1.5 lbs stew meat cut into chunks
  
• 2 medium onions, chopped
  
• 5-6 cups of water
  
• 4 small linguiça sausages (about hot-dog size) or chorizos, sliced
  
• 12 large garlic cloves, chopped
  
• 1 4.25-oz can of liver paté (I was totally scared of this but it was fine)
  
• 1 15-oz can of tomato sauce (about 2 cups)
  
• 1/3 c vinegar
  
• 1 c grated mild cheddar cheese
  
• 2 Tb sugar
  
• 2 Tb soy sauce
  
• salt and pepper to taste
  
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
  
• 4 sliced carrots
  
• 1 5.5-oz jar of pitted green olives (about 2 cups / 80 small olives)
  
• 1 bay leaf
  
• 1/2 of a red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and thinly sliced
  
• 1 c green peas (frozen = okay)
  
• optional: red pepper flakes to add a little heat
  

Directions:

• In a large casserole, brown the meat in oil over high heat with half of the onions.
  
• Add the water and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer.
  
• In a separate pot, cook the linguiça/chorizo pieces, then set aside.
  
• In the same pot (the chorizo one), sauté the garlic for a minute or so, then add the liver pâte and stir together.
  
• Add the tomato sauce, vinegar, salt, pepper, and sugar. Stir to combine.
  
• Add the grated cheddar cheese and soy sauce and stir till smooth.
  
• Pour into simmering beef and continue to simmer for 20-30 min.
  
• Add potatoes, carrots, bay leaf, olives, and the rest of the onions and continue to simmer for about an hour. Add liquid if stew gets too thin.
  
• Stir in the cooked linguiça slices, red pepper, and peas toward the end. Serve over rice.
  

Some people use peppercorns, cinnamon sticks, pineapple juice...the variations are endless. It's a tasty dish that reminds me of childhood and home. As we say in the Philippines, "Sarap!" ("Yum!")