Beef Caldereta

        Special occasions call for special occasion food. In the Philippines, we sometimes refer to special occasion dishes as Fiesta Fare. Fiesta is a Spanish word which means festival. And of course, after 300 years of Spanish occupation, a lot of our dishes took on Spanish influences.

        There are as many versions of Beef Caldereta as there are regions in the country. Some like it hot, so they add hot peppers. Purists use only the annato seeds or fresh tomato puree to give it its characteristic color. Still some have added olives and cheese to the recipe. But this is one dish easily recognizable on any table spread as it commands a place of importance and avid patronage being one of the more expensive dishes on the Filipino table. Though, an acceptable alternative to use is goat meat, but with additional preparation steps to get rid of the fishy goat smell. (I.e. washing and or boiling raw goat meat in vinegar, or including 7-Up or Sprite in the ingredients or both.

Cheesy Beef Caldereta

        The Beef Caldereta I made was one a friend taught me 10 years ago. I attended one occasion in her home and she served Beef Caldereta, among others. So before leaving, I begged her to give me her recipe for Beef Caldereta. Soon enough, when I had the chance, I tried the recipe, and it was awesome!

        So, if you're wanting to impress guests coming over for dinner, try making them a classic Filipino 'wow' dish like this one.

INGREDIENTS:

1 kg. lean beef meat, sliced into 1 inch chunks
1 225 g. bar cheese, sliced into cubes
1 1/2 cup potatoes, cut into chunks
1 cup carrot chunks
1/2 cup green peas
1 cup tomato paste
1 laurel leaf
1 cup pineapple chunks
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 whole red onion, quartered
1 red and green bell pepper, sliced
salt and pepper to taste

Caldereta veggies

PROCEDURE:

1. Place beef in enough water to cover and pressure cook for about 35 minutes or boil until tender. ( Remove scum that forms in the early stages of boiling.) Add water as necessary.

2. In a little oil, brown the potatoes, set aside. Brown the garlic and add onions. Wait until onions turn transparent then add the beef and stock. Add the laurel leaf, potatoes and carrots and cook until the vegetables are almost tender.

browned potatoes

3. Add the tomato paste and pineapple chunks. Season with pepper and stir in cheese cubes. Add red and green bell peppers, pineapple chunks and green peas. Adjust seasonings. Adding salt only if the cheese has not given you the right cheesy, creamy sauce.

Serve hot or on a chaffing dish along with other special dishes. Freeze leftovers in freezer bags.

Cheesy Beef Caldereta closeup