La Nueva Ropa Vieja – Tasty, Easy, And Sets Up For Soup

Ropa Vieja is a traditional Cuban recipe – it means “old clothes.” This is an updated version, making it “The New Old Clothes.” I originally came across this recipe in the Columbus Dispatch, but here’s my updated version.

This is a really tasty and easy meal that’s great for a party or group. It’s relatively cheap, too. It’s a stew-like dish that is packed with flavor. If you manage to have any leftovers, you can make a great soup from it – I’ll follow up with that recipe next week!

You can make this in a crock pot or dutch oven – either works well, but the crock pot is great for unattended cooking.

Ingredients

1 can Tomato Sauce – 8 oz (I use a cup of pasta sauce, which is usually found left over in the fridge).
1/2 cup water
3 bay leaves - each divided into quarters (and removed after cooking)
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 large onion
2 pounds flank or skirt steak.
2 bell peppers – choose different colors for visual appeal only. Use 1 green and 1 red, if available.
1 can diced tomatoes with garlic and olive oil – 14 1/2 oz (or buy plain and season it yourself – that’s what I do).
2 cups cooked rice (I use brown rice).

Method

Put the sauce, water, bay leaves, vinegar, garlic, cumin and black pepper into the pot. Stir to mix. Peel the onion, and cut it into quarters. Thinly slice the onion quarters, and add them to the pot. Place the beef over the onions, and spoon some of the liquid over the meat. If you are using skirt steak or flank steak you may need to cut it into pieces – it’s ok for it to overlap in the pot.
Cut the bell peppers in half, then discard the seeds and membranes. Cut the peppers into quarters, thinly slice them, and add them to to the pot. Pour the diced tomatoes with their juice evenly on top.
Cover the pot and cook on low until the meat is so tender that it practically falls apart, about 8 hours for skirt or flank steak.
Transfer beef and vegetables to a large serving bowl with a slotted spoon. Use two forks to pull the beef apart into shreds. After you pull the beef apart, add a ladle or two of the cooking juices, then stir to mix the beef and vegetables.
Reserve 2 cups of the beef/vegetable mixture for the soup.
Serve over cooked rice. I like to serve the dish plated separately in pasta bowls rather than family style, portioning out rice into wide, shallow bowels and ladling the meat and vegetables generously on top.*

Rice cooking tip: 1 cup brown rice, 2 cups water, a pinch of salt and 2 tablespoons of butter in a sauce pan, heat to boil, then reduce heat to low simmer, cover, and let cook for 50 minutes. Seriously, give it the full fifty minutes. This isn’t white rice. When the time has elapsed, remove from heat, fluff, and serve.

Store the leftovers and what you’ve reserved for next week’s Beefy Tortilla Soup. Keep the cooking juice separate and remove the fat from the top after it cools. If you’re going to wait more than a few days before making the soup, combine the de-fatted broth with the meat and vegetable mix and freeze.

*Plating is the term used by cooks and restaurant people that describes how food is arranged for presentation on the plate or bowl. I picked it up by spending a year as a waiter while in grad school, but it’s in common usage today, especially if you watch the Food Network.