Philippine Cocido : Pochero

The Holiday season is one filled with laughter, family and food. After every successful Christmas and New Year family feast there is inevitably an amount of food that is over catered and therefore surplus after the event–The question is what to do with the leftovers so as not to waste those expensive Holiday table fare such as ham, roasted chicken and vegetables.  For this month I am sharing a traditional Filipino stew recipe that uses holiday Christmas leftover….

Pochero 

Ingredients:

1 kg. stewing beef (shoulder)
150 g. Ham pieces
Ham bones
2 pcs chorizos de bilbao, sliced
500g  Roasted Chicken pieces leftover
2-4 tbsps. Olive oil
1 tbsp. of whole peppercorns
2 whole onions
2 whole bulbs of garlic
2 bay leaves
1 c Tomatoes, chopped
1 head cabbage, quartered and cored
2 large potatoes, peeled cut into wedges
2 large carrots, peeled and cut into wedges
1 c. of chick peas (canned)
Salt and Pepper

Procedure

Heat the olive oil in a large pot. Brown the beef on all sides. Add the chorizos, ham and ham bones. Add the onions, garlic, peppercorns, tomatoes and bay leaves. Pour in enough water to cover. Bring to the boil, lower the heat then simmer for two to three hours or until the beef is tender.

When the beef is tender, Add chickpeas and chicken pieces and simmer for 5-8 mins.

Using a ladle, take about two to three cups of the broth and pour into another pan, cook the vegetables.

To serve, arrange on a platter the vegetables around the meat. Pour the broth into individual bowls.

Food Notes:

1. Pochero is the Philippine version of Spanish Cocido
2. Using roasted chicken adds flavor to the stew
3. Patience is one of the secret ingredients !
4. Add  fried banana (saba) and sweet potato before serving

Posted JANUARY 2011