Kaldereta Beef using Mama Sita’s Caldereta mix cooked in a Slow Cooker

We call it Kaldereta, others call it beef stew. However one wants to call it, we call it yummy in our house. I use Mama Sita's Caldereta mix in this recipe. I also cooked it in a slow cooker. The meat is so tender when it is cooked in a slow cooker, and it doesn't lose its shape as well. Unlike if you simmer it for a long time in the stove or oven top. Since my friend Jing told me to buy a slow cooker, it's been an important gadget in my kitchen eversince. One can make a cheap cut of meat into something classy if one cooks it in a slow cooker. And I find, when I use the slow cooker, the meat absorbs all the ingredients around it.

I used Mama Sita's mix because it is quite handy, and it gives that certain Kaldereta smell. I did not put liver spread or any liver ingredient in this version because my family does not like it. Some might say it's not Kaldereta without the liver spread but it works fine with us. I substituted grated cheese instead to make it thicker towards the end of the cooking. Oh, the pictures does not have green peas, I've run out ... hehehe.

Ingredients:

1 kilo of beef, cubed
3 tbsp of olive oil

3 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
1 medium onion, sliced finely
½ tsp of salt or to taste
3 – 5 medium potatoes, cubed in big pieces (1 inch by 1 inch)
2 medium carrots, chopped round or diagonal
1 capsicum (bell pepper) sliced the same size like the carrots
a handful of frozen green peas (or fresh if it is handy)
2 tbsp of tomato paste
½ cup of grated cheese (optional)
1 cup of water

Directions:

1. Heat the olive oil in a sauce pan.
2. Sauté garlic in the olive oil until fragrant
3. Add the onions, stir until translucent.
4. Add the beef. Cook the beef until it turns a different colour, greyish.
5. Season it with salt, and then add the carrots, capsicum and the potatoes. Mix it through.
6. Mix the Mama Sita Caldereta mix.
7. Put the tomato paste and add the water.
8. NOW transfer everything into your slow cooker.
9. Set the slow cooker in automatic and cook for about 4 hours. Stir it occasionally.
10. Add the peas when you have been cooking it for 3 hours.
11. Half an hour before serving it, add the grated cheese.