Sunday, January 09, 2005

callos or menudo?

this is what i told the kittens:
a dish with tripe stewed in tomatoes and red pepper, chorizos, and potatoes, is callos.
with pork and liver, it is menudo (the dish with the same name in Mexico is made of tripe and is a cure for hangovers!).
same stew, with chicken it is afritada.
with beef and a souring agent (vinegar, citrus, wine) it's mechado.
with fish, sarciado.
they all scratched their heads, looked at each other, and lapped it up, figuratively and literally.
please, correct me if i'm wrong. how do you cook and name these stews in your family ?




Callos:
1 lb. pork stew meat
1 piece, about 1 lb., tripe (boiled once, water discarded, simmered in ginger, thyme, peppercorns, ground black pepper, bay leaf and enough water to cover, until fork tender, sliced)
4 chorizos ("Tropical" brand)
3 potatoes, quartered (pre fried or raw)
1/4 cup diced red bell pepper (from jar, or fresh)
1 packet afritada mix
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 large onion, chopped
3 tomatoes, finely chopped (can use diced canned tomatoes in puree)
1 15.5 oz.can of chick peas (garbanzos), rinsed and drained
optional: 2 tsps. of "herbes de provence" or dried thyme or oregano

saute onion, garlic and tomatoes, 1 tsp. of herbes if using, until translucent and soft ("meltdown" stage, sangkucha as my lola called it).
add pork meat and brown. sprinkle contents of afritada mix and stir fry until pork is coated. add 2 cups of water or broth. (add 2nd tsp. of herbes, optional.) simmer until almost tender, add the tripe and red pepper. when fork tender, add chorizos, garbanzos and potatoes. simmer 5 minutes more. (if using raw potatoes, add with the water or broth. check to prevent from falling apart. scoop them out if they're done before meats are tender.)
a saucy dish, that's great to eat over hot rice.