Ropa vieja (Cuban shredded beef with peppers)
205 min · 43 g protein · 599 cals / serving
Cuba's national dish: flank steak braised slowly in tomato, white wine, cumin and oregano until it falls into long, tender strands, then simmered with soft red and green peppers, onion and salty green olives. Served the Cuban way with white rice and black beans, it is even better the day after.
Ingredients
Ropa vieja
- 2 lb flank steak, cut into 3–4 pieces with the grain
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced
- 1 large green bell pepper bell pepper, in thin strips
- 1 large red bell pepper, in thin strips
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 packet sazon seasoning, optional, for colour (optional)
- 1/3 cup white wine, dry
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 1 can (14 oz) canned crushed tomatoes
- 2 cups chicken broth, or beef broth
- 2 leaves bay leaf
- 1/2 cup green olives, pimiento-stuffed, halved
- 1 tbsp capers, drained
- a small handful fresh cilantro, or parsley, chopped
To serve
- 1 1/2 cups white rice, long-grain, cooked
- 2 cans (15 oz each) black beans, drained, warmed with a pinch of cumin and a squeeze of lime
Steps
- Season the beef with the salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat and brown the beef well on both sides, about 4 minutes a side. Set it aside on a plate.
- Lower the heat to medium, add the onion and both peppers and cook 8–10 minutes, stirring, until soft and starting to colour. Add the garlic, cumin, oregano, paprika and sazón and stir 1 minute until fragrant.
- Pour in the wine and scrape up the browned bits, then stir in the tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, broth and bay leaves. Return the beef and its juices.
- Bring to a boil, cover, turn the heat to low and simmer gently 2–2 1/2 hours, turning the beef once, until it pulls apart easily with a fork. If it resists, it simply needs longer.
- Lift out the beef and shred it into long strands with two forks, following the grain. Discard the bay leaves, return the beef to the pot with the olives and capers and simmer uncovered 20–30 minutes, until the sauce is thick enough to cling to the meat. Stir in the cilantro and taste for salt.
- Serve over the rice with the warm black beans alongside.
Good to know
Flank or chuck?
Flank is the Cuban classic and shreds into the long 'old clothes' strands the dish is named for. Chuck is more forgiving and richer, at about 50 instead of 60.
Can I use a slow cooker or pressure cooker?
Yes. Brown the beef and soften the vegetables first, then cook on low 8 hours, or 45 minutes at high pressure with a natural release. Reduce the sauce uncovered on the stove after shredding.
What do I do with leftovers?
It keeps 4 days in the fridge and 3 months in the freezer, and the flavour deepens overnight. Leftovers make excellent tacos, a filling for Cuban-style sandwiches, or a topping for eggs.
Alternative
Per
- Calories
- 100
- Protein
- (30%)
- 7 g
- Fat
- (23%)
- 2 g
- Carbohydrates
- (47%)
- 12 g
- of which sugar
- 2 g
- Fiber
- 2 g
- Sodium
- 288 mg
About 5% of the alcohol remains after cooking; the label counts only that.
More meals
Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. How
As written, 3595 kcal goes into the pot and 3493 g of ingredients comes out as about 3600 g of food: 100 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.