Ropa Vieja

Time: 30 minutes cooking time

Serving Size: About 8 servings

Difficulty: 2/5

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. flank steak (boiled in stew)

• ⅓ cup oil

• 1 onion

• 2 garlic cloves

• 1 green pepper

• 1 can tomato sauce

• 1 tsp. salt

• 1 bay leaf

• ½ cup cooking wine (vino seco)

• 1 can sliced or diced pimientos

Prep:

• Cook the flank steak by boiling for a couple of hours to make a broth or soup.

• Cut the onions into thin rings and the green pepper into thin strips.

• Mince the garlic.

Directions:

1. Shred the cooked steak with a fork.

2. In a large pot, heat the oil on medium heat and add garlic and onion. Fry until the onion softens.

3. Add the green pepper and cook for about another 3 minutes.

4. Add the shredded steak, tomato sauce, salt, bay leaf, and cooking wine.

5. Reduce to low heat and cover for 15-20 minutes. Uncover and stir occasionally so the ingredients don’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

6. Stir in the pimientos.

7. Best served immediately with rice and a salad.

Notes & Comments:

• The steak must be cooked beforehand until it is almost falling apart. You can make a beef broth (follow the broth recipe here) that can used for another recipe. Personally, I like to boil the steak with salt, pepper, and root vegetables (malanga, potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, etc.) in a large pot of water for a couple of hours. The vegetables can then be blended with a little bit of the broth make puree soup.

• The quantity of onions and peppers can be adjusted to your liking.

• I have seen people add peas, capers, olives and other vegetables. You can also experiment with different spices like cumin and oregano. Every family has their own ropa vieja recipe, it's a pretty versatile dish.

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Receta Original

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ROPA VIEJA

2 lbs. de falda real (cocinada de antemano en el guiso o sopa)

⅓ taza de aceita

1 cebolla

2 dientes de ajo

1 ají grande

1 lata salsa de tomate

1 cdta. de sal

1 hoja de laurel

½ taza vino seco

1 lata de pimientos morrones

        Separe la carne en hilachas o hebras finas.

        Corte la cebolla en rueditas finas y el ají en tiritas. Machaque los dientes de ajo y sofríalos en el aceite caliente con la cebolla, añada después el ají y sofríalo un poco. Añada los demás ingredientes y déjelo cocinar tapado a fuego lento durante unos 15 ó 20 minutos, revolviéndolo ocasionalmente para que no se pegue. Los pimientos morrones pueden añadirse picaditos, molidos o usarse para adornar. Sírvalo con arroz blanco y una buena ensalada fresca. De 8 raciones.