I am using a venison neck roast here, but this recipe works with any meat you can stew, from beef and lamb to deer, elk, pork, goat, you name it. Serve with bread and a nice red wine.
1/2cuptomato puree,or 1 tablespoon paste mixed with 1/2 cup water
black pepper
PICADA
3tablespoonsolive oil
1slicestale bread, broken up, about 2 ounces
1/2cupslivered, blanched almonds,about 2 ounces
3guajillo or other semi-hot, dried peppers,seeded, rehydrated, and torn up.
Instructions
Salt the meat well and let it sit on the counter while you chop all the other vegetables.
Heat half the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or similar lidded pot -- or, if you are using a slow cooker, a really big frying pan. Pat the meat dry with paper towels and brown in the olive oil. Take your time with this and don't crowd the pan. Move the browned meat to a bowl if you are cooking in the Dutch oven, or to the slow cooker if using that.
Chances are at some point in the process you will need more of the olive oil. You'll definitely need it when the meat it done to sauté the onions and garlic. Cook them over medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until translucent and soft. Add the garlic and cook another minute or two.
At this stage, you will either move everything to a slow cooker, or start loading up your Dutch oven. Add all the herbs and spices except the black pepper, the meat, the sliced bell peppers, the stock, wine and the tomato puree. One by one, hand crush and shred the whole, peeled tomatoes into the pot. Use all the juice and sauce left in the can, and rinse the inside of the can with a little water and add that, too. Mix well, bring to a simmer, add salt to taste, then cover and cook gently on medium-low until the meat is tender, maybe 2 1/2 hours.
When the meat is tender, uncover the pot and increase the heat so it's boiling. You want to cook the caldereta down.
Meanwhile, make the picada by frying the almonds, stale bread pieces and peppers in the olive oil. You want them lightly browned. Grind to a paste in a mortar and pestle or food processor. Add to the stew with the freshly ground black pepper and mix well. Cook until the caldereta is thick.
Notes
If you are using a slow cooker, drop the stock to a pint, not a quart, because the stew will lose less moisture as it cooks.