Putsero (Pochero)

Known as Cocido madrileño by the Spaniards, pochero had been until recent decades a traditional Sunday dinner for Filipinos. It is a meat stew with lots of vegetables.

Among the typical components of putsero are potatoes, cabbage, saba bananas, baguio beans, garbanzos, onions and garlic. Other ingredients are tomato sauce, sugar, salt and white pepper.

INGREDIENTS FOR A CLASSIC POCHERO

12 cups water
2 kilos beef kenchi (shank) with bones, chopped
ham bone (optional)
1 morcilla (blood sausage)
1 chorizo de Bilbao (sharp Spanish sausage)

salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon monosodium glutamate

1/2 kilo ground pork
1 medium-sized onion, chopped
4 tablespoons flour
1 cup garbanzos
4 medium potatoes, halved
1/4 medium-sized squash, peeled
1 small cabbage
3 heads petsay (green leafy vegetable)
1/4 kilo stringbeans
6 bananas (saba variety)
3 medium-sized kamote (sweet potatoes)
6 eggplants

HOW TO MAKE POCHERO

• Bring water to a boil and drop in the kenchi. Let boil until meat is tender.
• Add ham bone. Drop the blood sausage and the chorizo de Bilbao into the broth.
• Add salt, pepper and monosodium glutamate.

• Prepare ground pork mixed with onion, salt, pepper and two tablespoons flour.  Form like a large loaf and roll in the rest of the flour before dropping into the boiling soup.
• Cook for about 15 minutes and set aside.

• Put in the chickpeas, potatoes and squash and cook till tender.
• To the soup add also the cabbage, pechay and beans.
• Remove the vegetables when cooked and set aside on a plate.

In another saucepan, cook the bananas, sweet potatoes and eggplants.

Cook for about 20 minutes and set aside.

• Arrange the meat and ground pork loaf together in one platter.
• In another platter arrange potatoes, squash, cabbage, pechay, peeled bananas, eggplants and sweet potatoes.
• Serve the broth in a soup tureen.

ACCOMPANYING SAUCE

2 tablespoons olive oil
6 cloves garlic, pounded
6 tomatoes sliced very fine (or one six-ounce can tomato sauce)
salt and pepper to taste

• Saute garlic in olive oil.
• Add the fresh tomatoes or tomato sauce.
• Bring to a boil.
• Season with salt and pepper.

Serves ten.