pork afritada

it has been a while since i was able to cook a tomato based stew. afritada was a dish introduced to us by the spaniards. just like the menudo, caldereta, callos and pochero. this is easy to prepare and nutritious as well. i cooked this last night for our dinner.

i based my afritada miss connie's recipe here. i just changed some of the ingredients based on what's available at my kitchen and just for the 3 of us.

ingredients:
3 slices pork liempo
1 potatoes
1 carrots
1 red or green bell peppers
1 tomatoes
1/2 cup frozen sweet peas, thawed
1/2 cup spaghetti sauce¹
1 cup water
3 cloves garlic
1 small onions
1 bay leaves
salt and pepper
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
3 tbsp. olive oil

procedure:
cut the pork into 2 x 2 inch cubes.

peel and finely mince the garlic. coarsely chop the tomatoes.

heat the olive oil in a thick-bottomed casserole. when hot, add the pork cubes and cook over high heat until the edges start to brown. the pork will initially expel water. just keep the heat up until the mixture dries up and the pork starts to render fat. then cook the pork in the mixture of fat and oil until the edges start to brown. at this point, you can pour off the fat.

add the garlic, tomatoes, bay leaves and spaghetti sauce to the pork and stir well. Season with salt and pepper. pour in the water, stir, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes.

meanwhile, prepare the rest of the vegetables. peel the carrot and cut into half-rings, and peel the potato and cut into cubes. peel the onions and chop. core and seed the bell pepper and cut chop.

add the vegetables to the stew. stir well. add the oregano. cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the meat and vegetables are done. add more water if necessary. add only about half a cup each time to avoid thinning the sauce. adjust the seasonings. finally, add the sweet peas and simmer for another 2 to 3 minutes.

let stand for 10 minutes to infuse the flavors.

serve hot.

• • • • • • •

¹ i used spaghetti sauce since i ran out of tomato sauce or tomato paste.