Today, it was calderetta, or kalderetta, or something like that. It's a Filipino dish consisting of beef and tomatoes and potatoes and carrots and herbs and spices, depending on which recipe you listen to it may include liver or pineapple.
Okay. So. Allergic to pineapple, so that's out. Utterly repulsed by liver, so that's out. Hate stewed carrots (crappy flavor and texture for me) so that's out.
So I made a Tex-Mex version instead.
I substituted one third of the beef requirement with pork, because everything's better with pork!
I added shrimp, because everything's really better with shrimp!
I added mushrooms, because mushrooms are made of awesome and loaded with vitamin D. Call that a substitute for the carrots.
For tomatoes, there's no kill like overkill. The recipe called for tomato sauce and tomato paste. You got it! Added a hearty helping of both. Then I added a can of fire-roasted herb-drenched sliced tomatoes.
Potatoes were just plain old canned potatoes. Nothing fancy there.
Now for the seasoning. The only chili powder I had was in a packet, so I sort of doubled up on that quantity. Then there was a hearty helping of garlic. Then there was an even heartier helping of black pepper. (This is where we really start getting Tex-Mex.)
Bell peppers of all shades added color and bell-peppery goodness. Then I drained off a jar of hot banana peppers and added them because I love the flavor of banana peppers.
Also I tossed in a couple of eggs because they were in the fridge and due to go bad in a couple of days. That doesn't do any flavory things, but it does make it more protein-y.
What happened?
Awesome happened. It's sort of chili-like, but without the chili. When I do it again I'll probably ditch the shrimp just because it about flooded the pot with all the ingredients, and add in another can of potatoes because the potato load is a little low.
Otherwise, I am very satisfied with this culinary experiment. Technically it may not be calderetta/kalderetta any longer, but it is bitchin' delicious all the same.
