Ropa Vieja

Once again, I found a recipe on the Epicurious web site - I have had great luck with the recipes on that site. I learned that Ropa Vieja is a Cuban stew of shredded beef, onions, and peppers. Sounds good to me!

Plan on spending 2-3 hours in your kitchen if you decide to make this. It was a lot of prep and time, but well worth it!

Ingredients

For braising beef:

• 3 pounds skirt or flank steak, trimmed
• 2 quarts water
• 2 carrots, chopped coarse
• 1 large onion, chopped coarse
• 2 celery ribs, chopped coarse
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed lightly
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano (I used Mexican oregano)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

For the second step:

• 2 green bell peppers, cut into 1/4-inch strips
• 1 red onion, cut into 1/4-inch strips
• I added 1 chopped jalapeno
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups braising liquid (will be left after braising) plus additional if desired (I ran out of braising liquid and needed to add some beef broth)
• a 14- to 16-ounce can whole tomatoes with juice, chopped
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano (I used Mexican oregano)
• 2 red bell peppers, cut into 1/4 inch strips
• 2 yellow bell peppers, cut into 1/4 inch strips
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed (I planned on using these but didn't)
• 1/2 cup pimiento-stuffed Spanish olive, drained and halved (don't like olives so I omitted them)

Directions

To braise beef:

• In a 5-quart kettle combine all braising ingredients and simmer, uncovered, 1 1/2 hours, or until beef is tender.
• Remove kettle from heat and cool meat in liquid 30 minutes.
• Transfer meat to a platter and cover.
• Strain braising liquid through a colander, pressing on solids, into a bowl.
• Return braising liquid to kettle and boil until reduced to 3 cups, about 30 minutes.
• Stew may be made up to this point 1 day ahead. Cool braising liquid completely and chill it and the beef separately, covered.

Then...

• In kettle cook green bell peppers, jalapeno, and onion in 2 tablespoons oil over moderate heat, stirring, until softened.
• While vegetables are cooking, pull meat into shreds about 3 by 1/2 inches.

• To onion mixture add shredded meat, 2 cups braising liquid, tomatoes with juice, tomato paste, garlic, cumin, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste and simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes.

• While stew is simmering, in a large skillet cook red and yellow bell peppers in remaining 2 tablespoons oil over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened.
• Stir red and yellow peppers into stew with enough additional braising liquid to thin to desired consistency and simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes. (I let it simmer for about 25 minutes; 5 minutes wouldn't have been enough to really let the flavors get to know each other, as Jon would say)
• Stir in peas and olives and simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes. (Omitted this step)

We enjoyed this dish over white rice. I was so impressed with the flavors of the beef. Adding the beef broth helped a bit, and I'm also glad I added the jalapeno. This dish isn't supposed to have heat, but since we like heat, I think I'd add a sliced poblano next time.

See the posts below for the salad I served with the meal as well as our wine choices for the evening..