Ropa vieja, which translates to old clothes, is another Cuban traditional dish that I grew up eating. My mother would typically make this at our Sunday family dinners since its easy to make large quantities which is perfect when you have to serve so many people. Since I started this blog, I like to look up the origin of the dishes—especially for this one. I was interested to know why it was called ropa vieja. Apparently, this dish originated from the Canary Islands, just north of Africa. The reason that it got its name, was because it was traditionally made with left-over meat and as it grew popularity, people started making it from fresh meat instead of left-overs.
To make ropa vieja, you need a piece of meat that you can shred into long pieces. My mom typically uses a brisket. The first step is to cut the brisket into big cubes and season it generously with salt and garlic powder. After, place it into the pressure cooker and add enough water to cover the meat. Once the meat is cooked you shred the meat and then cook it on the stove top with onions, peppers, tomato sauce, and cooking wine. The best part of this dish is that water that you used to pressure cook the meat basically became a broth and you can use that broth to cook other things. What my mom typically does is that she uses it to make sopa de plantano (plantain soup) which is a thick delicious soup which goes perfectly with ropa vieja.
Ooo and another great thing about ropa vieja, is that it ALWAYS tastes better the next day, so don’t throw away any left overs!
Ingredients
- 4 lbs Beef brisket
- 3 tbsp Garlic Powder
- 2 tbsp Salt
- 2 Onions
- 2 Green bell peppers
- 4 Garlic cloves
- 1 cup White cooking wine Vino seco
- 3 cups Tomato sauce
Instructions
- Cut the brisket into 3×3 cubes. Season with the garlic powder and salt. Place the meat in a pressure cooker, and fill with water so that the meat is submersed in water. Cook in the pressure cooker for 30 minutes.
- While the meat is cooking, cut the onions and bell peppers into strips. Press the garlic in a garlic press.
- When the meat is done cooking, carefully release the pressure from the pressure cooker. Take all the meat out and place on a cutting board or plate. Using a fork, shred the meat into strips.
- Lightly cover the bottom of a cooking pan with oil and heat over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the garlic, onions, and peppers and cooking for about 3 minutes. Add the meat afterwards and cook for another 3 minutes, incorporating the meat with the vegetables.
- Add the white cooking wine and tomato sauce and stir to mix all the ingredients together. Cook for another 10-15 minutes. Add additional season with garlic powder and salt to tasted.
- Serve and enjoy!
