Ropa Vieja Dumplings Recipes

BONGO'S ROPA VIEJA

Steps:

• In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and peppers and saute until translucent. Add steak, tomato, bay leaf, cumin, garlic, and oregano. Stir to combine and cook for 25 minutes.
• Serve with white rice, black beans, and sweet fried plantains.

ROPA VIEJA

Steps:

• Add the olive oil to a large, heavy pot and heat over medium-high heat. Add 2 teaspoons salt, broken bay leaves, crushed red pepper flakes and halved jalapeno and stir. Add the quartered onions, chopped carrot, parsley, and mashed garlic cloves and stir again. Place the brisket in the pot, season with salt and pepper and add enough water to cover by 2-inches. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat so that the liquid just simmers, and cook the brisket until the meat is tender enough to shred, 2 to 3 hours. Remove the meat from the cooking liquid and set aside until cool enough to handle. Strain the cooking broth through a fine-mesh sieve and discard solids. Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the broth for the ropa vieja and use the remaining broth for another purpose.
• When the meat has cooled, shred it into 3 to 4-inch strands. Set aside.
• Combine the minced garlic, oregano, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a mortar and pestle and work into a smooth paste. Set aside.
• In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and add the sliced onion. Saute until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic paste and bay leaf and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the tomato sauce, reserved beef broth, wine, and vinegar and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the shredded beef and roasted green pepper strips, stir to combine, and cook, covered, for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the meat is fork tender and falling apart, coated with a thick sauce, and the flavors have come together. If the sauce gets too thick, add a bit more of the reserved beef broth. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if necessary. Remove the bay leaf and serve, garnished with the pimiento slices, lime juice and cilantro, if desired.

EARNEST HEMINGWAY'S OLD SHIRT (ROPA VIEJA)

Steps:

• Salt and pepper the meat and lightly dust with flour (Do not cut off fat!).
• Brown the meat in olive oil in a large cast iron braiser. Add enough water to surround the meat, but don't cover it. Add green pepper, 1/2 of the chopped onions and the garlic. Simmer, covered, until meat is fork tender, about 2 hours. Add more water sparingly to avoid burning and flip meat over at the halfway mark.
• Remove from heat and cool. Shred the meat and remove the fat.
• Discard the veggies and sauce. Slightly clean the braiser then add back to the stove top add olive oil.
• Saute the roasted garlic and the remaining chopped onion until transparent. Add chopped red pepper. Add crushed tomatoes, cumin, 1/2 of the red wine and bay leaf. Incorporate salt and pepper, to taste. Cover and cook over low heat for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add other half of the red wine and cook for 14 minutes more.
• Remove bay leaf and serve with white rice or stuff in Plantain Cups.
• Fill large bowl with warm salted water to cover the plantains. Peel green plantain and cut into 2 inch pieces. Put the cut plantains into the water and soak.
• Heat oil to 375 degrees F.
• Remove plantains from water, shake off excess water and fry the plantain pieces for 5 to 6 minutes. Remove the plantains and let cool for a couple of minutes.
• Using the Rivera Tostonera designed to make cups put fried plantains lengthwise into mold. If you don't have a Tostonera maker take 2 mini muffin pans and put fried plantains in the mold of 1 pan lengthwise and with the other muffin pan press down firmly to form a cup.
• Carefully remove the cup and re-fry the plantain cup in the hot oil until golden brown.
• Remove the cups and drain on paper towels and sprinkle with salt.
• Serve warm.

OLD CLOTHES (BEEF STEW): ROPA VIEJA

Steps:

• Boil the flank steak with bay leaves, carrots, 1 onion, and oregano with enough water to cover the ingredients. Cook for 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Drain and let the meat cool, cut into 2-inch cubes and then shred.
• Saute the remaining onion, peppers, and garlic in olive oil until translucent. Deglaze with sherry. Add tomatoes and cumin. Cook for 15 minutes. Add the shredded meat and cook for 1/2 hour. Season with salt and pepper.

ROPA VIEJA

Steps:

• In a large pot, put the flank steak, garlic, yellow onions, 1 tablespoon of the oregano, salt, peppercorns, bay leaves and 2 ounces each of the red wine and Worcestershire. Add water to cover the ingredients by 2 inches. Bring to a boil, cut back to a simmer and cook for 3 hours, until the flank steak is falling apart.
• Remove the flank steak from the pot, cut into 3-inch sections and set aside. Strain the beef broth and reserve for a later step.
• Wipe out the pot and coat with the olive oil. Add the red onions, white onions, green peppers, red peppers and the remaining tablespoon oregano. Cook over high heat for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring every couple minutes.
• Add the flank steak back to the pot, along with the tomato sauce, red wine vinegar, reserved beef broth and the remaining red wine and Worcestershire. Bring to a boil, cut back to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes.
• Add the olives, peas and tomatoes to the pot. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving over coconut rice or white rice.