Sorry For The Long Absence, But Here’s Ropa Vieja!

Welcome back friends and neighbors. It’s been a while since I posted anything. It’s been a long week over here, I must say. Lots going on and I am simply exhausted. Not the smallest of things is the fact that tomorrow, we’re adopting a cat. That’ll put the house roster at two people, two rabbits and one cat. The animals are taking over.

The weather is turning ever cooler and I did a great deal of hearty, stew-y cooking this week, too. No bread experiments this week, as I couldn’t find the time between regular cooking, editing articles and getting the house cat-ready. But I did make a big pot of chili, a big pot of beef stew and last night I took a crack at a dish I’ve only made once before but have a real fondness for. One of the national dishes of Cuba, Ropa Vieja.

This is a stew of shredded beef, the long shreds giving the name of ropa vieja, or “old clothes”. As such, you want to choose a cut with long muscle fibres. I chose flank steak, because it’s one of my favorite cuts. However, a chuck roast or brisket will work just as well. You want something tough, that’ll soften in the braise, giving you great flavour and long, ropey strands of shredded meat.

This dish, depending on where you get it, often has an undertone of sweetness. Some recipes call for the addition of sugar, but for my personal taste, I find it sweet enough from the cooking of the onions and bell peppers.

A very similar dish in some regions of Spain will have you cook potatoes or chickpeas in with the braise, and while this sounds good alright, I really love this served over rice, just as they do in Cuba. Another good side to serve with this would be some black beans, cooked slowly in lard.

Time for the usual disclaimer: I’m not Cuban, I’m not trying to say this is authentic. I don’t mean to offend anyone. If this dish is part of your heritage, please, reach out and let me know. I’d love to learn the secrets from a pro. I’m not trying to come off as an expert in Cuban cuisine here.

What I can promise is a delicious, comforting dish that will fill your home with terrific aromas while it cooks and your stomach with homey warmth while you eat it. If that sounds like something you’re into, read on.

Ropa Vieja

Ingredients:

• 1.3kg (3lbs.) flank steak (or chuck roast or brisket)
• 3 yellow onions, peeled and rough chopped
• 2 red bell peppers, peeled and rough chopped
• 8 cloves garlic, peeled and grated on a Microplane, or very finely chopped
• 59mL (1/4 cup) white wine vinegar
• 16.7g (4 tsp) sweet Spanish paprika
• 14.3g (1 tbsp) dried oregano
• 8.4g (2 tsp) ground cumin
• 2.1g (1/2 tsp) cayenne pepper
• 1 28oz. can peeled Roma tomatoes
• 2 bay leaves, fresh if possible
• Kosher salt, to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 lime, juice only
• Fresh cilantro, roughly chopped, to garnish
• 1 cup basmati rice (I used basmati because that’s what I had)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 250° F.
2. In a large, heavy-bottomed oven-proof pot or Dutch oven, heat a film of canola oil over medium-high heat. Pat the meat dry with paper towel and season well with salt. Sear until well browned, about 4-5 minutes per side, then transfer to a plate and set aside.
3. Reduce the heat under the pot to medium. Add the onions and peppers and allow to cook and slightly brown, 10-12 minutes. Add the garlic and stir to combine, being careful not to let the garlic burn. Cook for another 2-3 minutes, then deglaze the pot with the vinegar.
4. Once the vinegar has almost cooked away, add the paprika, oregano, cumin and cayenne. Keep stirring so the spices don’t burn and allow the aromas to release, 1-2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, breaking them up with a wooden spoon and stirring to combine.
5. Nestle the meat into the liquid so it’s almost covered, add the bay leaves, then tightly cover the pot. Place it in the oven for 3 hours.
6. In the last half hour of cooking time, rinse the rice well, then place into a small pot and cover with 1 ½ cups of water and a large pinch of salt. Let the rice sit in the water for 30 minutes.
7. Remove the pot from the oven, and place on a burner over the lowest heat. Carefully remove the meat from the pot and place on a cutting board.
8. Shred the meat into strings with two forks. Once well shredded, place back into the pot with any juices released while shredding and keep warm over low heat.
9. Meanwhile, bring the pot of rice and water to a boil over high heat, then cover and immediately reduce the heat to the lowest it will go. Cook for 10 minutes, then remove the pot from the heat and let stand, still covered, for 10 minutes more.
10. Taste the stew for seasoning, adding salt and pepper as desired and seasoning with the lime juice. Fluff the rice with a fork. Scoop the rice onto plates, ladle the stew on top and garnish with chopped cilantro.

In the three hours this dish cooks, you’ll find yourself gravitating more and more often into the kitchen to breathe in the heady aromas. This is a dish that feels good to make, serve and eat. You should TRY to have leftovers, but I won’t blame you if there aren’t any.

Hopefully next week will be a bit more normal and I’ll be able to post a bit more regularly. Hopefully I’ll also have some cat photos by then, too! In the meantime, send me an email or leave a comment down below letting me know if there’s something you’d like me to cook, or a topic you’d like me to cover! Hope to hear from you soon!