Arroz a la pobre

Another variation of the traditional Paella, this is a very economical way to prepare a stylish dinner for 20 people without spending more than PhP 200.00 (US$ 3.3636). The earlier agreement to keep our Saturday evening get-togethers to after-dinner drinks and pica-pica suddenly went down the drain after one of our friends announced on Friday evening that she would bring crispy pata the next day. Naturally, we all knew that it would be another one of those nights. Food, food and more food. As far as my husband I were concerned, that didn’t mean we need to spend more. I mean, after all, I’m such a wiz at cooking up something great with the least possible expense. That was how arroz a la pobre was born.

Arroz a la Pobre (literally, rice of the poor) is a term I coined to characterize a very economical version of a very expensive traditional recipe. Steamed mussels in half shells, diced sweet pork sausages, browned pork cubes, sweet peas, carrots, plenty of garlic, onions, sweet pimientoes and rice are stirred into in a colorful tomato-based sauce. The expensive ingredients like prawns, crabs and spanish chorizo were substituted with more affordable, yet equally satisfactory, ingredients. There are traditional ingredients though that I decided to retain like olive oil which, despite the price, I found necessary because I did not want to sacrifice flavor and aroma.

The sweet pork sausages (longganisa) I used are the foot-long sausages sold pre-sliced in most wet markets. There are two kinds–the one with food color and the one without. I chose the latter. I did not need artificially colored sausages for an already colorful dish.

To start with a good base, I cooked the rice with meat stock and water. I kept the liquid to a minimum to make sure that the grains will not get mushy.

Ingredients :

4 c. of uncooked long-grain rice
6 c. of meat stock
4 c. of water
1/4 k. of pork meat
1/4 k. of native sweet sausages
1 k. of mussels
1/4 k. of sweet peas
1/4 k. of carrots
1-225 g. can of skinned sweet whole pimientoes
1 head of garlic, peeled, crushed and finely minced
2 onions
4 tomatoes
1/4 c. of olive oil
1/2 c. of tomato paste
1 tsp. of dried basil
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. of dried rosemary
1/4 tsp. of crushed dried oregano
salt and pepper
1 tbsp. vegetable cooking oil

Cooking procedure :

Soak the mussels in cold water for at least 8 hours in the refrigerator. Rinse and pull out the beards.

Cook the rice using the 4 c. of meat stock and 4 c. of water. Cool.

Steam the mussels (or cook in the oven) until the shells open. Cool and remove the empty half shell.

Cut the pork meat into 1″ x 1″ cubes. Season with salt and pepper.

Roughly chop the pimientoes, reserving the liquid. Finely chop the onions and tomatoes. Cut the carrots and sausages into cubes, about the size of the peas.

Heat a heavy skillet. Pour in the vegetable oil and fry the pork cubes until lightly browned. Set aside. Lightly fry the carrots for about a minute. Transfer to a plate and set aside. Over high heat, fry the sausage cubes until they start to brown. Transfer to a plate and set aside.

Drain all the oil from the skillet. Pour in the olive oil. Saute the garlic until lightly browned. Add the onions, tomatoes, peas, bay leaf, basil, rosemary, oregano and pimientoes. Cook until the vegetables are soft. Pour in the remaining meat stock. Stir in the tomato paste. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a soft boil. Set the heat to low and add the rice in 3-4 batches, stirring well after each addition. Adjust the seasonings, if necessary. Cook until the rice is heated through. Return the rest of the cooked ingredients to the skillet–carrots, sausages and pork–stirring to distribute them evenly. Lastly, add the mussels in half shells. Stir lightly to prevent the mussel meat from falling off the shell.

Serve hot.