Anyone Craving Old Clothes?

I was craving something more than a Cuban sandwich so I decided it was time to make my very own Ropa Vieja. My mother made this for us when I was a child but I remember not liking it (because it was too “different” from what my friends’ families ate). I had it at a local restaurant last year and it was delicious! What was my 8 year old self thinking?

Ropa Vieja “Old Clothes”

Preparation: 15 minutes
Cook time: 2.5 hrs

2.5 lb Flank steak, cut into large chunks
½ c Adobe Seasoning
¼ c Worchester sauce
Flour
Salt & Pepper
Olive oil
½ thin sliced onion
2 cloves of garlic , minced

Combine the Adobe seasoning and Worchester sauce to form a paste, rub over meat and marinate for at least 15 minutes at room temperature. Heat oil in a Dutch oven on med-high. In batches, coat marinated meat in flour mixture and brown each side. Once each side is browned- beef won’t be cooked through- set aside and brown the next batch. It is very important to not crowd the pot and remember to add more oil if necessary. Add sliced onion, minced garlic and return all beef to pot, fill with water until it completely covers the meat. Simmer for 2 hrs or until the beef is fork tender.  Drain pot into a colander and on a cutting board take each piece of meat and shred beef using two forks (this can take a while and is quite boring- but totally worth it!)  Set Aside.

1 green pepper
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
4 oz tomato paste
1 tsp cumin
1 can diced tomatoes
1 Bay leaf
½ c red wine


Sauté peppers, onion and garlic until translucent. Add 4oz. of tomato paste and cumin, let darken for a few minutes. Add shredded meat and bay leaf. Deglaze pot with red wine and make sure to scrape the bits off the bottom. Once most of the red wine has evaporated add the diced tomatoes and simmer for about 30 minutes.

Serving options:
*with black beans and yellow rice.
*in-between a slice of Cuban bread (like a sloppy joe)

Now that I have embraced different food cultures, I thank my parents for making me eat these “weird” foods.