pochero

Fall being the beginning of stew season (remember this one from last winter?), and R wanting a dish with a little (but not too much) beef in it, I made a very tasty Philippine stew the other day. Called pochero, it's a Philippine adaptation of a traditional Spanish dish called cocido, which is one of those stews with eight types of meat and a smattering of vegetables and chickpeas. The variant I made, tweaked from a Philippine cookbook given to me by a Filipino friend, was delicious. It's a hearty stew of vegetables and beef, with the interesting plantains to give it a bit of tropical sweetness, and the fish sauce and lime juice to contribute the typically Philippine salty/sour pairing. The recipe is very easy, and takes about an hour and a half (filling your apartment with great meaty smells the whole time). And it looks almost as good as it tastes...