Ropa Vieja

Name: Ropa Vieja (Old Clothes)
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: Cuba
Ingredients: 1 bay leaf; ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon; 1 tablespoon capers (optional); 2 tinned pimentos, chopped; Salt, freshly ground pepper; ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves; 2 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped; 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped; 1 large onion, finely chopped; 1 clove garlic, chopped; 1 fresh hot red or green pepper, seeded and chopped; 1 leek, chopped; 2 tablespoons olive oil; 1 carrot, scraped and sliced; 1 turnip, peeled and cubed; 2½ lb. flank steak

Old Clothes

Preparation info

Serves
6

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Complete Book of Caribbean Cooking

By Elisabeth Lambert Ortiz

Published 1973

About

This is a traditional Spanish dish that migrated early to the Caribbean, and remains popular in the Spanish-speaking islands, as indeed it does throughout Latin America. This Cuban version is a very good one.

Ingredients

2½ lb. flank steak
1 carrot, scraped and sliced
1 turnip, peeled and cubed

Americas
Cuba
Main course
Gluten-free
Spicy
Caribbean

Method

Put the beef with the carrot, turnip and leek on to cook in sufficient water to cover, and simmer gently until it is tender, about 1½ hours, in a covered pot. Allow it to cool sufficiently to handle then shred it until it resembles its name, old clothes which are in rags. Reserve the stock.

Heat the oil in a large, heavy frying pan and sauté the onion, garlic, bell pepper and hot pepper