Chambre (Legumes and Meat Stew) combines rice, legumes, meat, vegetables, and tubers in a dish that is a complete meal in itself, and it's very comforting.
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It’s fair to say that I have learned as much from my readers’ comments and emails throughout these years than I may have taught them. And I have discovered a treasure trove of new dishes in our cuisine that I did not know existed prior to my starting to write about Dominican cooking.
A million thanks for that
This hearty stew, seemingly created to get rid of all of a week’s leftovers, or to get the home cook a respite by combining almost all of the Dominican traditional lunch in one single pot, was unknown to me until my readers brought it to my attention.
Luckily, I quickly got hold of a few friends that were well-acquainted with Chambre and shared their recipes with me. I have been told it’s also known as “Chapea” in other parts of the country.
As it almost always happens, everyone had a different recipe, born out their own family traditions. As I usually do, I settled for the one I liked best. This is it.
I hope you love it as much as I did.
Chambre Recipe (Dominican Legumes and Meat Stew)
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons of oil
- 2 lb . of longaniza (Dominican spicy pork sausage) cut into slices
- 1 lb of smoked pork chops , diced
- 1 cubanelle (cubanela) pepper, diced
- A pinch of oregano
- 1 small onion , diced
- 1 teaspoon of garlic , mashed
- 1 cup of red kidney beans , boiled soft and drained
- 1 cup of pigeon peas , boiled soft and drained
- 1 carrot , diced
- 1 lb . of sweet potato (batata) cut into cubes
- 1 lb . de auyama (West Indies pumpkin) cut into cubes
- 1 qt [1 lt] of water
- 1/2 cup of rice
- 1 teaspoon of chopped parsley leaves
- 1 teaspoon of salt (or more, to taste)
- 1/4 teaspoon of pepper (or more to taste)
Instructions
- In a deep-bottomed pot heat the oil over medium heat.
- Cook and stir the sausage and pork until they brown. Stir in cubanela, oregano, onion and garlic, cook and stir until onion becomes translucent. Stir in beans, pigeon peas, carrots, sweet potato and pumpkin and cook and stir for a minute. Pour in water. When it breaks the boil add the rice and cilantro, stir. Cover the pot.
- Cook over medium heat until the rice is tender and the grains have doubled in size. Stir frequently to prevent the ingredients from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve with avocado slices.
I love all your recipes… you are my go-to source when I get cravings for my Dominican Delights! Thank You Tia Clara
I followed this very easy recipe and loved it! My family also loved it!
Very tasty, filling, easy and very quick to make! Fantastic!
I am glad to hear that.
Hi Aunt Clara, I'm so happy I found this page thanks to a Dominican friend I met here in US. I was asking to remind me the ingredients of stew fish which I more or less knew but I wanna to make sure I wasn't letting anything out. I love to cook my Dominican food specially now that I'm pregnant I have been craving chambre for months and it make me think of the maid we had in Santiago who always cook it for me. So now I'm planning to make my own. I prefer red beans than gandules but… Read more »
Thank you Aunt Clara for your good wishes, and yeah I know it is very nice to have Mom when the baby arrives as she is a great Grandmother and has always help her daughters when she is needed and we do love her for that and yeah the FOOD is very much appreciated =P.
LOVE this website, and cant wait to start making food again so I can try new things.
Marium
My question wen do u add pigeon peas and can I add anything to it like seafood and other type of meat
Well I am a Dominican Muslim, and when my mom came over to help me when I had my little girl, I asked her to make a few faves of mine. One was this one, and Yes she made it with Beef so is was finger liking goooooooood!! I love Dominican Cooking and really wish my Mom was here now since I am Prego again and cant eat anything but Dominican food…But the problem is that I am not able to get out of bed since a month now! =(
Marium
Good luck with your pregnancy, Marium. Yes, having your mom nearby when you are pregnant is fantastic, but trust me, nothing beats having mom around when the baby arrives. 🙂