Ropa vieja
Cuba’s national dish, of Canary Island origin: beef cooked and shredded in a sofrito of tomato, pepper and onion. It’s served with white rice, black beans and fried ripe plantain.
Ingredients
- 1 kg beef flank
- 1 large onion
- 1 red and 1 green pepper
- 4 garlic cloves
- 400 g crushed tomatoes
- 100 ml dry white wine
- Cumin, oregano, bay leaf
- Olive oil and salt
How to make it at home
- Simmer the meat with the bay leaf, half the onion and salt in water for 1½ hours, until very tender. Keep the broth.
- Let it cool slightly and shred it with your hands or two forks.
- Fry the onion, the pepper strips and the garlic in oil.
- Add the tomato, wine, cumin and oregano, and cook for 10 minutes.
- Add the meat with a little broth and cook for 15 minutes more. Serve with rice, beans and fried plantain.
The trick: Shred the meat along the grain: that way it ends up in strands, like “old clothes” (ropa vieja).