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Cuban ropa vieja

• Luis Gonzalez-Castro

Published: December 22, 2021 at 10:35 AM

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Serves 4

Easy

Total time: 3 hrs and 45 mins

+ marinating

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Learn to cook the national dish of Cuba, a fragrant, smoky, aromatic mixture of tender, melt-in-the-mouth pulled beef, olives and other rich flavours

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Try this Cuban ropa vieja recipe from Cuban chef Luis Gonzalez-Castro. Luis says, "Literally meaning ‘old clothes’ due to its long, shredded fibres, this is the national dish of Cuba and served in every restaurant in Little Havana. With its fragrant, smoky, aromatic mixture of tender, melt-in-the-mouth pulled beef, olives and other rich flavours, it’s no surprise. It takes a while to cook down, so make sure you can have time for a relaxed cooking session when you make this. At our supper clubs we make it the day before, then let it rest overnight before gently cooking it again the next day. We serve it with rice speckled with black beans, called moros y cristianos, a traditional and historical rice dish brought to Cuba from Spain."

This is a recipe that Luis shared as part of his guide to Cuban-American cuisine. Check it out to learn about Cuban cafecito, iconic cubano sandwiches and tres leches cake for dessert. Or try his bocado de principe for a traditional Cuban crowdpleasing dessert.

Luis was born in Puerto Rico but his family relocated to Little Havana when he was seven. In vibrant Little Havana, Luis’s father owned a small bakery, kick-starting Luis’s life-long passion for food. Luis affectionately called his beloved grandmother Cuca, and she is the inspiration behind his regular Cuban-American supper clubs across London. For more details, see @cocinacuca on Instagram.

Luis's recipe tip: "Traditionally this dish is made the night before so the juices really seep into the beef. I usually cook this towards the end of the night, leaving it in its juices (don’t reduce the sauce and liquid at this stage, as you want the beef to keep its moisture). I cover the pan with foil and cover it with a lid. When you are ready to serve, remove the foil and lid, and put the pan on a low heat about an hour before you want to serve it. This is a slow process but well worth it. It’s a labour of love."

Cuban ropa vieja recipe

Ingredients

Nutrition

• 1kg (skirt, flank, bavette or chuck) beef

  cut into four even pieces

• 1 tbsp sunflower oil

• a few whole black peppercorns

• 1 red chilli

  finely diced

• 2 onions

  chopped

• 5 cloves garlic

  smashed

• a drizzle olive oil

• 500g passata

• 400g tin chopped tomatoes

• 200ml red wine

• 750ml beef stock (or the beef cooking liquid)

• 100g green pitted olives

  roughly chopped

• a bunch coriander

  chopped

MARINADE

• 3 limes

  juiced

• 1 orange

  juiced

• 3 cloves garlic

  crushed

SOFRITO

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 1½ onions

  finely chopped

• 4 cloves garlic

  crushed

• 2 bay leaves

• 1½ tsp smoked paprika

• 1 tsp ground cumin

• ½ tsp dried oregano

• 2 roasted red peppers from a jar

  sliced

Nutrition: per serving

• kcal686
• fat32.7g
• saturates9.9g
• carbs24.9g
• sugars19.7g
• fibre7.7g
• protein59.8g
• salt1.4g

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Method

• step 1

  To marinate the beef, tip into a bowl and add the lime and orange juices, and the garlic. Chill overnight or for up to 24 hours.

• step 2

  Heat the sunflower oil in a large pan or casserole. Drain the meat from the marinade and brown, in batches, for 1 minute on each side until caramelised. Add all of the beef back to the pan and then add enough water to completely cover the beef. Add the peppercorns, chilli, onions and garlic. Cook gently for 2 hours, topping up the water as necessary, until the beef is meltingly tender. Remove the beef from the liquid and use two forks to shred the meat. Strain the liquid and keep it aside for later.

• step 3

  For the sofrito, put the olive oil in a large frying pan over a low heat with the onions, garlic, bay, paprika, cumin and oregano. Cook for 3 minutes, making sure it doesn’t burn, then add the peppers and stir everything together. Season to taste and continue cooking for 10 minutes.

• step 4

  Add the shredded beef to a drizzle of oil in a pan on a medium heat, and fry the beef until a few pieces go almost a little crispy. After 1-2 minutes, add the sofrito, along with the passata, tomatoes and wine. Let it simmer for a few minutes over a low heat, then add a ladleful or two of the stock every couple of minutes. After 20 minutes, add the olives and most of the coriander.

• step 5

  Turn up the heat and cook for 35 minutes until cooked through and ready to serve – it should be juicy and bubbling. Serve with the remaining coriander sprinkled on top and a small wedge of lime for squeezing over.

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Authors

Luis Gonzalez-Castro

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