A Lamb Stew from the Philippines. Calderata!

Southwest 5 to 7, occasionally gale 8 later, perhaps severe gale 9 later.

Moderate, occasionally rough later.

Occasional rain or drizzle.

Moderate or good, occasionally poor.

 

Why lamb?

One of the most interesting experiences in the last year was that people don’t realise for a long time that you are a Vegetarian if you don’t mention it.

Don’t get me wrong, my colleagues notice each day what I eat and comment on it. My eating habits are a kind of good natured joke to them, mainly because I am the only one who brings home cooked food each day into work. They would eat either sandwiches, yoghurts, crisps (or all of it) or eat the food provided by their employer.

I don’t want that. Food in OAP homes is a) vile (even in the very expensive homes) and/or b) often fortified. And I don’t eat horrible food which has, due to extra powder, double the amount of calories. Hence I bring, what they mockingly refer to, my “picnic basket with a full Sunday lunch”. And I get asked each day what is in that basket. And there will be always a comment on it, and the second comment will arise when I eat it and they compare their food to mine.
On top of it I talk “food”, mainly with the cooks. Compare recipes, exchange ideas and tricks, and occasionally I cook for the whole bunch (my cheese and onion pastries are the favourite of every night shift team, the second most requested dish is my take on Keema Curry and here again..no one asked what is in it, otherwise they would know that the beef is replaced with Vegetarian haggis)). Yet no one ever asked: “Are you Vegetarian?” It puzzles me, since by now it must be obvious to them.

The only question in regards to meat resulted in the lamb which is part of today`s recipe. I made a Thai Green curry with tofu and was asked why not chicken. To which I answered that I am not fond of chicken, and lamb, which is my favourite meat, doesn’t work here. Again, this was accepted without further questioning.

The next day one of my colleagues brought me some lamb meat from his brother, who owns a farm in the Rye Salt Marsh. Salt marsh lamb..it cant get better. Well, it does. Happy little cute lambs who live a life outdoors on (in this case) organic fields and are only slaughtered when they are just on the verge of becoming officially mutton. Pity that mutton puts many people off and, according to my colleague, doesn’t sell that much, especially if it is from the (fatty) shoulder. So he gave me (for free) a good three kilos of organic Salt Marsh Lamb shoulder and challenged me to make a stew the others would enjoy.

So I put 500gr aside to try out several recipes, hence the meagre amount in the picture above. This represents maybe 1/3 of the recipe for one, and even if you cant be bothered to eat it with rice, it will be enough to satisfy you.

Calderata is considered one of the most beloved dishes from the Philippines (I cant verify this bold statement since I have never been to the Philippines and have to rely on the internet for this assumption) and shows, like the dishes from Goa (Portuguese colony), the influence of the Mediterranean (in this case Spanish). It can be done with any meat, but is traditionally done with goat, another strong tasting meat which is not to everyone`s liking. Like any stew there are millions of recipes and everyone claims that this is the authentic. Is mine authentic? Who cares! It might not be because I found many references that pig`s liver should be included. Now, I am quite partial to liver. Especially veal`s liver, chicken liver, or, if I have to, beef liver. But pig`s liver? No. Actually..a double NO with several exclamation marks!!!!

So, just call it a lamb stew inspired by the spirit of Calderata and you will be fine.

The vinegar in these kind of recipes serves two purposes: To make originally strong tasting meat milder (hence game is often “washed” with vinegar) and to mask meat which is on the verge of going off (there is a reason most recipes from the Middle Age ask for vinegar in combination with meat- either as a marinate or as a condiment)

The original idea was from Madhur Jaffrey`s “Far Eastern Cooking”, in my opinion one of the best cookbooks as a starter point for everything Far East Asian. As always, serves one.

Lamb Stew with Potatoes, Peppers and Olives

200gr of boneless lamb

1 tbsp of white wine vinegar

A sprinkle of salt

Some black pepper

1 clove of garlic

1 shallot

1 tbsp olive oil

1 red hot dried chilli pepper or one fresh with the seeds removed

1 stick cinnamon

1 bay leave

1 squirt of double concentrated tomato paste

1 potato

1 green pepper (bell pepper) or whatever leftover pepper you have lurking in your fridge, cut into small stripes

About 4 green olives

Cut the meat in small cubes and mix it with the vinegar, salt and ground pepper. Set aside and marinate it for at least one hour, preferable over night.

Chop up the garlic and shallot, dice the pepper, chilli pepper and potato.

When you are ready to cook, drain the meat, but reserve the marinate. Pat dry. Heat the olive oil and add the chilli pepper. Give it a few seconds and remove with a slotted spoon. Add the meat and brown on all sides. Remove from the oil. Turn the heat down. Add the garlic and onion and then the cinnamon and bay leave. Give it a few minutes, and then add the meat, the tomato paste and the marinating liquid. Cook for 30 minutes, then add the diced potatoes and cook for another 30 minutes. Add the pepper stripes and the olives and cook for 10 minutes more.

Depending on how you want to serve it, add water as you go along. If you want to serve it with rice, make it fairly thick and don’t add water beyond a few splashes. If you regard it as a real stew, be generous with water and serve with a spoon.

Verdict:

Well.. how to phrase it without sounding smug. My experiment went very well, the above dish was devoured by all my colleagues (I used the “with rice“ version) and you will find this recipe next year in the annual calendar from a Salt Marsh Farm. Be a trendsetter. Try it out before everyone else does it.

And I think that no one will ask me for the next months: “I kind of noticed you never feature meat..are you by any chance a Vegetarian?”

Am I still? Good question. How many meat dishes is a Vegetarian allowed before he is no longer considered a Vegetarian? One strike and you are off? Three?

How about if I eat once per month meat. And the rest of it neither meat nor animal products? Out of the wish to reduce the killing of animals because we have a choice to not do it? But being human? Yes, I had the choice to dismiss the gift and the challenge by declaring that I am a Vegetarian.

But first of all I am human and I cant bloody resist Salt Marsh Lamb. I am neither Jesus nor Mother Theresa. And frankly, the lambs were dead anyway without me creating a market through demand.

And second this is not me. I rather introduce people casually to a diet without meat without them knowing it.

Honestly, I don’t care if you eat bacon or chicken or love a steak. But I am glad if you try out the recipes and declare them as truly scrumptious and not at all frightening. My humble victory? To show people that Tofu or Seitan is nothing to be scared off or means boring food. It is just an alternative to something we take for granted out of tradition or lack of imagination.

Will this dish work with tofu? Dont be ridiculous, it wont. If you find a way to make it Vegetarian, let me know.