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 (reserved from Stroganoff a la Carbonara) and water. I kept the liquid to a minimum to make sure that the grains will not get mushy.
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hi ms connie! where can i get meat stock? is it available from supermarkets? sorry po, never heard of it..thanks..God Bless..
Try Google, Elle.