Ok, so this one has a funny name. “Ropa Vieja” translates to “Old Clothes”. As a child, I never really understood why it was called ropa vieja. Later on I would hear theories that it’s because this dish resembles old worn out clothes thats falling apart. I guess if you concentrate on it enough it can possibly look that way. I still don’t see it. HA! It just looks like deliciousness to me! Some people simply call it “Carne Ripiada”, which makes more sense to me. It translates to “Shredded Meat”, which is exactly what it is.
Ingredients:
1 piece of flank steak
1 cup of olives (optional)
1 can of tomato sauce
1 onion
5 large garlic cloves
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 Tbs of oregano
1 Tbs of cumin
1 Tbs of Sazón Completa
2 bay leaves
Salt
1/4 cup of white wine (or dry cooking wine)
(Amount of each ingredient can be adjusted per chefs’ liking.)
Chop up the peppers, onions, and garlic.
(I personally like to pass them through a food processor to get like a paste-like consistency so the veggies dissolve in the beans.. no big chunky piece. Of course, this is optional.)
NOTE: Pressure cooker needed.
Add the flank steak into a pressure cooker with enough water to cover the steak. Add salt to taste. Time spent in the pressure cooker varies depending on the type of pressure cooker.
Once the pressure cooker is done, remove the steak and pull apart. You should have stringy shredded beef.
Add all the ingredients to a pot with enough water to cover the ingredients half way up.
Let simmer on medium to low heat for 20 to 25 mins to let the shredded beef absorb the ingredients.
If there is excess water, turn up the heat to let it cook out, but keep a close eye on it so it doesn’t burn.
If it dries out during the medium/low heat, add a little more water.
Serve over white rice.
