Ropa Vieja

Name: Ropa Vieja
Total time: 195 min
Yield: 2
Ingredients: 1 lb beef, flank steak (whole, trimmed); 3 cup water; 1 unit carrot (halved); 2 unit bay leaf; 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 unit onion (sliced thin); 2 unit bell pepper, red and green (sliced into strips); 4 clove garlic (minced); 1 tbsp tomato paste; 1 cup tomato (crushed, canned); ½ cup dry white wine; 1 ½ tsp cumin (ground); 1 tsp oregano (dried); ½ tsp smoked paprika; ⅓ cup green olives (pimiento-stuffed, halved); 1 tbsp capers (drained); 2 tsp red wine vinegar; 1 ½ tsp salt; ½ tsp black pepper (ground)

Meat & Game · Latin American & Caribbean

19 ingredients · 195 minutes · 2 servings

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878kcal63.3g protein53g fat27.1g carbs~$5.86/ serving*

Nothing flagged in the ingredient list. The label is still the last word.

Restrictions

Diets

No pork

Worked out from the ingredient list. It knows nothing about brands, shared equipment or cross contamination, and it is not a certification — if you have an allergy, you still have to read the label.

Ingredients

Servings:

1 lb	beef, flank steak (whole, trimmed)
3 cup	water
1 unit	carrot (halved)
2 unit	bay leaf
2 tbsp	olive oil
1 unit	onion (sliced thin)
2 unit	bell pepper, red and green (sliced into strips)
4 clove	garlic (minced)
1 tbsp	tomato paste
1 cup	tomato (crushed, canned)
½ cup	dry white wine
1 ½ tsp	cumin (ground)
1 tsp	oregano (dried)
½ tsp	smoked paprika
⅓ cup	green olives (pimiento-stuffed, halved)
1 tbsp	capers (drained)
2 tsp	red wine vinegar
1 ½ tsp	salt
½ tsp	black pepper (ground)

Optional

Not counted above. The dish works without them.

2 tbsp	cilantro (chopped)
1 unit	lime (wedges)
1 cup	rice, long-grain (steamed, to serve)
1 unit	plantain (ripe, fried, to serve)
¼ cup	peas, green (stirred in at the end)

Steps

Sear8 min
high, dry heavy pot, 1 tbsp oil
flank steak, both faces, until deeply browned — the fond left behind is the only roasted flavor in the dish, since everything after this is a wet cook
Simmer120 min
barely trembling, covered
seared beef + water + carrot + bay leaf + 0.5 tsp salt. Hold it below a boil: a rolling boil squeezes the muscle fibers tight and the meat shreds into dry threads instead of moist ones. Done when a fork twisted into the grain separates it with no resistance
Rest10 min
in the liquid, off heat
beef in its broth, then lift out and strain the liquid — reserve 1.5 cups and discard the carrot and bay. Cooling it slightly in the broth keeps the outer layer from drying while you work
Prep8 min
still warm
pull the beef apart with two forks along the grain into long strands — this is the 'old clothes' the dish is named for. Shred it warm; once it cools the collagen sets and the strands break short instead of pulling long
Saute12 min
medium, 1 tbsp oil
onion + bell pepper strips + 0.5 tsp salt, until slumped and sweet at the edges but still holding their shape — they must stay visible strips in the finished dish, so stop well short of collapse. + garlic for the last minute only, or it scorches in the dry pan
Caramelize3 min
medium-high
+ tomato paste + cumin + oregano + smoked paprika, stirred constantly until the paste darkens from red to brick and stops smelling raw — this is where the sauce gets its depth
Deglaze4 min
high, until nearly dry
- dry white wine
+ dry white wine, scraping the browned bits off the bottom, and cook off the harsh alcohol before the tomato goes in
Stew30 min
low, partly covered
+ crushed tomato + shredded beef + 1.5 cups reserved broth. Reduce until the sauce coats the strands and no free liquid pools when you drag a spoon through — soupy ropa vieja means the shreds never absorbed the sofrito
Season3 min
off the boil
+ olives + capers + red wine vinegar + black pepper, then taste for salt last. The olives and capers carry their own brine, so salting before they go in is how this dish gets oversalted; the vinegar goes in at the end because its brightness cooks away in minutes