Cuban Ropa Vieja

Ropa Vieja (Vieha) translates to Old Clothes. Have you ever had a piece of clothing that was your very favorite and it is just getting old but you don't want to through it out. The more you wash it the more frail it gets...then it starts to shred...Well, Ropa Vieja is not old meat it is just shredded meat.

Ropa Vieja is a very typical Cuban dish. The flavor is similar to Picadillo but it is made with Flank Steak instead of Ground Beef.

Here is how we do it..

1 1/2 - 2 lb Flank Steak

1 large yellow onion

1/2 large green pepper or 1 small green pepper

4 large garlic cloves

1/2 c green olives stuffed with pimientos

1/2 c. capers

1/2 c. canned peas

1/2c. raisins

1/2 cup fresh Italian parsley

1 1/2 cup tomato puree mixed with 1/2 c. water

1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil

3 Tbs. salt

1 Tbs black pepper

Cut the piece of meat in half. Place in pressure cooker and fill cooker with water halfway. Follow pressure cooker instructions and after the pressure has been reached, cook for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let the pressure come down on it’s own. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, place meat in a pot, fill halfway with water. Bring to a boil. Cover lower heat and cook for about 1 hour or until meat falls apart with a fork.

While the meat is cooking, chop the onion, peppers, garlic and parsley. Cut the olives roughly in half.

In a medium frying pan, add the oil and bring to medium heat. Add chopped onions and peppers. Sautee for about 5 minutes. Add chopped garlic and sautee for another 5 minutes.

Add tomato puree mixed with the water. Stir. Add olives, capers, raisins, peas, parsley, salt and pepper. Stir. Bring to a slight boil, lower heat, and cook for about 15 minutes. Set aside.

When meat is cooked, with a spider skimmer pull out the meat into a plate. With two forks shred the meat. It will be very soft and pull apart easily.

Place the shredded meat in the pan with the sauce. Bring back to heat, stirring. Simmer for about 30 minutes stirring occasionally.

Serve over Cuban White Rice and enjoy!

I also like Ropa Vieja refrigerator cold served on crackers. It also makes a great Taco!!

Let me know how you like it!!