Ropa Vieja (Cuban Old Clothes Dish)
The recipe for Ropa Vieja, translated to Old Clothes, has a long history in the Cuban cuisine. It’s considered the national dish of Cuba and recipes vary across the country as each family passes down their own version of the dish and makes it their own.
The gastronomical heritage of a certain country speaks to the customs and history of its people, and the Ropa Vieja recipe is no exception. The dish is said to have been brought into Cuba by immigrants coming from the Canary Islands. But unlike the original Spanish-style dish which is often made with potatoes, chickpeas and a combination of beef, chicken and pork, this Cuban dish has only shredded beef in its composition.
The legend says that a poor man once had guests over and had nothing to cook for them. As a last resort, the poor man took some old clothes from his closet and hugged them to try to fill them with his love. As he cooked the clothes, the love for his family turned the clothes into meat and that’s how this delicious dish was born, and this is where its name comes from.
It may be only a myth but it’s a heart-warming one at that, as is every spoonful of this lovely Cuban food. A sweet reminder that love should be the most important ingredient in every meal. Check out below a traditional recipe for
Ropa Vieja (Cuban Old Clothes Dish)
Ingredients
- 2 pounds beef flank steak or skirt steak, trimmed
- 1 large red onion thinly sliced
- 3 bell peppers thinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons sweet paprika
- 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup dry white wine
- 1 cup chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
- 16 ounce canned crushed tomatoes 1 can
- 6 ounce tomato paste 1 can
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 large carrot cut in half
- 1 stalk celery cut in half
- 1 cup pimientos-stuffed green olives (or use green olives and 1/2 jarred pimientos separately)
- 1/2 cup roasted red peppers canned
- 2 tablespoons capers rinsed and drained
- 1/3 cup fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- Pat the meat dry and season well with salt and pepper.
- Next, heat up some oil in a casserole dish over high flame and once well heated, add the meat in. Brown on both sides and transfer to a separate dish. Keep the melted fat as we'll use it to flavor to vegetables.
- Add all the sliced vegetables to the pot and cook, stirring often for about 20 minutes until beautifully browned and caramelized.
- Stir in the spices and minced garlic and mix for a minute, Next add the splash of white wine, bring to a boil and deglaze by scaring the browned bits off the bottom of the pan.
- Next, pour in the chicken broth (or vegetable broth), tomato paste, crushed tomatoes and bay leaves and leave to simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Place the roasted beef pieces in the pot together with the carrot and celery slices. Once the contents are boiling, lower the heat and simmer for about 3-4 hours until the meat pulls apart easily. Take out the carrots, celery and bay leaves and discard them.
- Take the beef out, shred it and introduce the capers, red peppers, olives and simmer uncovered for about 30 minutes to thicken the sauce.
- Once done, season with salt and pepper to taste, stir the meat back in and top with freshly chopped parsley.
