Thursday, June 23, 2011

The Cris Bolado Special


Description:
fried pork meatballs with a spicy tomato sauce - this was inspired by a recipe done by Chef Jose Andres in his show "Made in Spain", but the original had squid and wine in it. this is not an imitation or rip-off, only a poor man's take on something watched on TV. i named it after the greatest back-up center in Philippine Basketball Association history, Cris "Jumbo" Bolado. bow. exit.

Ingredients:
for 1 kilo of ground pork, include the following:
ground pork (kasim, with fat also)
4 stalks celery, including leaves (kintsay, according to my mother)
3 big red onions
1 handful of garlic
1 pinch of salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 sachet of magic sarap seasoning (2 sachets, if you decide not to use salt)
3 eggs
1 small carrot

for the rest, you will need:
corn starch
cooking oil
chopped bacon (bits and ends will do, no need for the fancy expensive type)
2 big white onions, chopped
4 tbsps. chopped garlic
4 medium chopped tomatoes
3 medium chopped potatoes
1 bay leaf
salt
pepper
1 tsp. ground dried chili powder
1 tbsp. ground spanish paprika
quickie beef stock (1 beef cube dissolved in about 2 cups boiling water)

additional ingredients (optional, but worth a try)
1 chopped carrot
1 can mushrooms, chopped

Directions:
mix all the ingredients for the ground pork and put in the freezer for at least 1 day.

for the meatballs, get about 4 hands full of your ground pork and form bite-sized meatballs (you can use a spoon or your bare hands), and coat them with corn starch. heat enough oil in your frying pan for a few minutes and fry the meatballs until one side is crispy, then turn them using a spoon and fork until the other side is crispy too. set them aside so you could drain some of the oil. fry the bacon in a little oil until it becomes crisp, then set aside. fry the white onions until soft, add the garlic and cook until golden, then add the tomatoes. cook until the tomatoes have a somewhat sauce-like texture, then add salt, pepper, chili powder, paprika, bacon (and the fat, if you want) and potatoes. add the chopped carrot, and mushrooms if you decide to include them. stir for a few minutes, then add the beef broth and bay leaf. simmer this until your vegetables are tender. serve and enjoy. thank you.