Ropa vieja is a tasty dish with origins in Spain and it’s popular in Cuba. This is a stew where beef is slowly simmered in a tomato based sauce with onions, bell peppers and garlic. The beef, typically flank steak, is braised until it’s falling apart tender before being shredded and mixed back in with everything else. The stew is seasoned with cumin, paprika, oregano with hints of allspice and cloves. Olives, capers and a splash of vinegar round everything off and the combination of all of these flavours is amazingly tasty! I like to serve ropa vieja over rice with a side of beans. This recipe makes a big batch, which is good since any leftovers taste even better the next day!
Ropa Vieja (aka Cuban Style Shredded Beef)
Slowly braised beef in a tasty Cuban style sauce with onions, peppers, garlic, olives and capers!
ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 pounds beef (flank, chuck, brisket, etc.)
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 3 teaspoons sweet paprika
- 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cup green olives (optionally sliced)
- 2 tablespoons capers
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (or lime juice)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
directions
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, add the beef and brown on all sides before setting aside.
- Add the onion, and bell peppers to the pan and cook until tender, about 7-10 minutes. (Add more olive oil if needed.)
- Add the garlic, tomato paste, cumin, paprika, allspice, and cloves, and cook until fragrant, about a minute, mixing it in as it cooks.
- Add the beef broth, crushed tomatoes, oregano, and bay leaves, and mix before adding the beef.
- Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the beef is falling apart tender, about 2 hours.
- Remove the beef from the pot, shredd and mix back in, along with the olives and capers and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add the vinegar and season with salt and pepper to taste before mixing in the cilantro and enjoying!
Option: Add 1/4 cup diced roasted red peppers near the end for some extra sweetness!
Option: Add 1/4 cup raisins!
Note: The leftovers taste even better the next day!
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another really nice dish, haven’t had Cuban food in a long time but love the unique flavors, especially in the beans, even vinegar, nice reminder and recipe, thank you!
I loved the flavors in this, and it was simple to do in the slow cooker especially. I cooked it while I was at work, and when I got home I reheated some leftover rice and warmed up some frozen peas which were perfect with the beef. My whole family ate it up, which is a rare occurrence. Thank you for a really great recipe!
I bought Chuck roast for this recipe & needless to say it did not take 2 hours to cook. It took about 8. I had to transfer it from my pot to the slow cooker. I hope it turns out after I get home today bc it looks so good in the picture!
Was the lid on while simmering the beef for the 2 hours on the stove top?
Kevin, how were the black beans cooked, with spices, out of the can?? This would be so good with your cilantro and lime rice which is yummy..
Thanks.
This would be good with cilantro lime rice! Yum! The black beans in the photo were simply rinsed canned beans. These Cuban style seasoned beans would also be good here:
https://www.closetcooking.com/cuban-black-beans-and-rice-moros-y/
Haven’t had this dish in years and made this yesterday in the slow cooker with a chuck roast. We ate this over rice and topped with sour cream (on traditional, but delicious).
Good recipe but I would suggest cutting the meat into 2in chunks like your Barbacoa recipe just so shredding the beef is easier. Thanks for another great dish
If anyone’s wondering how much salt to add, I added half a teaspoon and it was enough
I made this recipe and my family loved it! it was delicious, so flavorful. I will definitely make it again. Thank you Kevin!
This is very close to my Cuban mom’s recipe, which always included raisins. She would put them in with the olives and capers for the last ten minutes or so. They’d retain their essential flavors: sour, bitter, sweet.
Raisins are good in this!