Cuban Ropa Vieja

“I was recently lucky enough to get to travel to Cuba for a couple of weeks. I had an amazing time and captured as much of it on video and in still photos as I could. This video will hopefully convey a little of the wonder I experienced. The Ropa Viejo recipe below will let you taste some of the flavorful food I got to try on my trip.”

Ingredients:
Steak Preparation – Steak can be served alone or mixed with the stew below.
2.5 pounds flank steak (or chuck roast)
3 cloves garlic (chopped)
6 whole cloves
1tbl oregano
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon salt
Water necessary to just barely cover steak in stockpot

Stew Ingredients
1.5 large or 2 medium onions (chopped)
4 cloves garlic (minced)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 large green bell pepper (sliced into thin strips)
1.5 pounds tomatoes (large dice)
1 large celery rib (chopped)
1.5 cups tomato sauce
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tbl oregano
1 tbl cumin (ground)
2 tbl white distilled vinegar
2 bay leaves
1.5 tsp salt and pepper to taste. Add more salt during cooking if desired.
Optional ingredients
3 tbl capers
3 tbl, sliced pimento olives
Or, 1 cup frozen peas

Preparation:
1. Place the steak into a stockpot and add water to just barely cover the steak.
2. Add the garlic, cloves, oregano, bay leaves, garlic, celery and salt.
3. Bring ingredients to a boil, then cover and reduce to moderate heat and cook until steak is very tender and easy to pull apart, about 3 1/2 hours. Remove lid for the last approximately 20 minutes and boil almost all of the water away until only a couple of tablespoons remain. This intensifies the flavor in the steak. Be sure to not burn the meat or pan by boiling water completely away.
4. Transfer the meat only to a platter to cool and discard the remaining cooking liquid.
5. When the meat is cool enough to handle, shred it with two forks. At this point you may refrigerate the meat overnight.

Stew Preparation
1. In a large skillet or pot, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onion and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes.
2. Reduce the heat to medium and add the garlic and sauté until fragrant, approximately 1 minute. Do not burn garlic. Add the rest of the ingredients and spices. Cook until vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes.
3. Turn the heat to medium high and cook for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.
5. Remove the bay leaves.
6. Stir in the shredded beef and cook for about 10 minutes until the beef is heated through.
7. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add any of the optional ingredients if desired and turn off the heat. Serve immediately.

Servings: Serves 4 – 6 people.
Adapted from Restaurant El Maguey – Havana Cuba