My take on one of Cuba’s most loved dishes – Ropa Vieja which in Spanish translates to old clothes (the dish is said to resemble a pile of old colourful old rags). Here I use pre-diced braising steak but traditionally cuts such as flank, skirt or chuck are slowly cooked for hours with tomatoes and vegetables. The beef is then shredded and the stew served with rice, plantain and black beans on the side.
It’s a rich, warming and tropical stew perfect for cold weather! London is very grey so I decided to make a comforting dish with a hint of something bright and tropical of course. Cuban food is a blend of Spanish, African and Carribbean food which means lots of spices, bold and exotic flavours.
Although I’m not a huge red meat eater this stew is definitely worth it. Only a little bit of oil is used to initially brown the meat so it’s fairly low fat and packed with lots of veggies. It take a couple of hours in the oven (low heat for a long time) but the beef comes super tender in a deliciously rich tomato sauce. If you don’t want the rice, plantains and black beans it could also be served with some cornbread or piled inside warm tortillas and topped with a little sour cream. There are lots of options with this one, it’s surprisingly good!
Serves 4
Prep 15 mins
Cook 180 mins
Total 195 mins
Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
400g good quality braising or casserole steak cut into 2cm cubes
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 large red onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
1 red pepper, deseeded and thinly sliced
1 orange pepper, deseeded and thinly sliced
1 yellow pepper, deseeded and thinly sliced
1 large carrot, sliced into matchsticks
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp sugar
2 bay leaves
400g can of chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato puree
200ml chicken stock
2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped – to serve
White rice – to serve
Refried beans – to serve (see link to recipe below)
1 large yellow plantain, cut into 1cm diagonal slices and fried – to serve
Method
First pat the beef dry and season with salt and black pepper. Preheat the oven to 160C / gas 3 / 140F.
Heat 1tbsp oil in a large ovenproof pan or casserole dish with a lid over a high heat. Add the steak and brown all sides until the beef has charred spots. Transfer to a plate and set aside (keep any juices).
In the same pan heat 1 tbsp oil over a medium heat and fry onion and garlic for a few minutes. Add the peppers, carrot and spices (oregano, cumin, paprika, sugar, bay leaves) and cook for 10 minutes or until the peppers are softened.
Add the chopped tomatoes, puree, chicken stock and white wine. Bring to the boil and then return the beef to the stew, simmer for 10 minutes.
Put the stew in oven for 2 1/2 – 3 hours or until the beef is tender (you may need to remove vegetables after an hour and add them back later) and remove the bay leaves.
Serve with white rice, fried plantain, refried beans and top with fresh coriander.
