Ropa Vieja Roulade Recipes

ROPA VIEJA (CUBAN BEEF)

Steps:

• Cut flank steak in half across the grain. Mix salt, black pepper, and cayenne. Season both sides generously with the salt mixture.
• Heat olive oil in a pot over high heat. Add steaks and cook until outsides are well browned, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Remove steaks to a plate.
• Reduce heat to medium. Add red onion, garlic, and more of the salt seasoning. Cook and stir until starting to soften, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in cumin, paprika, oregano, cayenne pepper, cloves, and allspice. Cook and stir for 1 minute. Pour in white wine, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Stir in tomato sauce and chicken broth.
• Return beef and accumulated juices to the pot. Season with salt and add bay leaves. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until beef is almost fork-tender, not falling apart, about 2 hours.
• Remove pot from heat and let stew cool to room temperature, at least 45 minutes. Refrigerate, 8 hours to overnight, for best results.
• Remove beef to a plate and set stew over medium heat. Tear beef along the grain into 1/8- to 1/4-inch-wide shreds; place back in the stew. Add bell peppers, poblanos, smoked paprika, capers, olives, and sugar. Stir together and reduce heat to medium. Simmer until peppers are soft and meat is tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Turn off heat, remove bay leaves, and stir in cilantro.

ROPA VIEJA

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Pat the flank steak completely dry with a paper towel. Cut in half or thirds (across the grain) if needed to fit into your pot in a single layer. Season with 2 teaspoons salt.
• Heat the olive oil in a medium Dutch oven or a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches if necessary, add the steak in a single layer and cook until a deep brown crust develops, 5 to 8 minutes on each side. Remove to a plate and set aside.
• Add the onions and peppers to the same pot. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and a few cracks black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin and oregano; stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until it starts to develop color, about 1 minute. Add the vino seco to deglaze and cook, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Add the tomato sauce, beef stock and bay leaf. Stir to incorporate. Nestle the steak in the sauce, submerging it slightly. Be sure to add any accumulated juices from the plate.
• Cover and cook in the oven until the meat shreds easily with two forks, about 1 hour 30 minutes.
• Transfer the pot back to the stovetop. Remove the steak to a cutting board or medium bowl and shred into long thin pieces using two forks. Meanwhile, simmer the sauce over low heat until slightly reduced, about 3 minutes. Return the steak to the pot and stir to combine. Add the lime juice and olives, capers or pimientos, if using.
• Serve with white rice and black beans.

ROPA VIEJA DUMPLINGS

Steps:

• In a large pot over medium heat, add the flank steak, bell peppers and onion. Add the beef stock and cilantro. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and cover. Simmer, checking the liquid level once an hour and adding more beef stock if necessary, until the ropa vieja (steak) can be easily shredded upon picking up with tongs, 6 to 8 hours. Remove the ropa vieja and set aside to cool down, then shred.
• For the tamarind hoisin sauce: In a medium pan over medium heat, add the hoisin sauce, tamarind syrup and soy sauce. Cook, stirring, to allow the ingredients to emulsify, 5 minutes. Remove and set aside.
• For the dumplings: Grab a dumpling wrapper and brush egg wash over the edges only. Ball up a small amount of ropa vieja and place it in the middle of the dumpling wrapper. Crimp the two outer edges of the dumpling wrapper over the ropa vieja. Bring the top and bottom to the center over the ropa vieja and crimp with the other. (This should look like a small purse.) Fold the right edge to the backside and crimp. Fold the left side to the front and crimp. (The outcome looks like a mini money bag.) Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling. Place the dumplings in the freezer for 2 hours.
• Fill a medium pot three-quarters of the way with water and set over medium heat. Bring the water to a boil. Add 5 dumplings from the freezer and for the first minute, stir to prevent them from sticking to the bottom. Cook until the wrappers become translucent, then remove.
• Heat the sesame oil in a small nonstick saute pan over medium-high heat. Turn off the heat and let sit for 30 seconds. Use a slotted spoon to drain the excess water from the dumplings as much as possible. Carefully transfer the dumplings to the pan (be careful; the water from the dumplings may make the oil splatter). Turn the heat to medium-high and cook, moving the dumplings continuously. This can be done by pushing the pan forward and back or by using tongs to flip the dumplings. Once the dumplings are seared on all sides, remove from the pan.
• In pasta bowl, add 1/4 cup of the tamarind hoisin sauce. Place the dumplings in the middle and garnish with the crushed pork rinds and sesame seeds. Save the remaining dumplings and sauce for another use.

ROPA VIEJA

Steps:

• Season beef or pork with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over high until lightly smoking. Working in batches as needed, cook the meat in a single layer, turning occasionally, until well browned on all sides, about 8 minutes per batch, reducing heat as necessary if the oil smokes excessively.
• Add braised peppers and onions, tomatoes, olives, raisins, capers and chicken stock. Scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce to a bare simmer, cover with the lid slightly cracked, and cook, stirring occasionally and scraping any crust that has formed at the edges of the pan back into the liquid, until meat is completely tender and shreds easily with two forks, about 2 1/2 hours. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Shred meat with two forks, and serve immediately with white rice, black beans and hearty greens. Ropa vieja can also be shredded, allowed to cool, and stored in the fridge for up to 1 week. It will improve in texture and flavor with time.

ROPA VIEJA RECIPE

Steps:

• Place steak and half each of the onions, green pepper halves and garlic cloves in Dutch oven. Add water and bay leaf. Bring to boil on medium-high heat; cover. Simmer on low heat 2 hours or until steak is tender.
• Cut remaining onion and remaining green pepper halves into thin slices; place in large skillet. Finely chop remaining 2 garlic cloves. Add to skillet along with the dressing; mix well. Cook on medium-high heat 10 min. or until vegetables are tender, stirring frequently.
• Drain steak mixture, reserving 1/2 cup cooking liquid for later use; place steak in shallow pan. Discard vegetables cooked with the steak. Use 2 forks to shred steak. Add to vegetable mixture in skillet; mix well. Cook 2 min. Stir in reserved cooking liquid and remaining ingredients; cook 5 min. or until heated through, stirring occasionally.

CHICKEN ROPA VIEJA

Steps:

• Place chicken, onion, tomato, carrot, and 2 cloves of garlic into a large pot. Add water to cover, then bring to a boil. Skim and discard the foam that has floated to the surface. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer uncovered until the chicken is tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Place the chicken into a bowl and shred it into strips as thick as a pencil; set aside. Strain the cooking liquid and discard the vegetables.
• Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the garlic, onions, green peppers, and red peppers. Cook and stir until the vegetables have softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in tomato puree, white wine, chicken, and enough of the reserved broth to create a thick sauce. Season with cumin, salt, and pepper. Simmer for about 5 minutes more to reduce the sauce slightly and coat the shredded chicken.

ROPA VIEJA

Steps:

• To braise beef:
• In a 5-quart kettle combine all braising ingredients and simmer, uncovered, 1 1/2 hours, or until beef is tender. Remove kettle from heat and cool meat in liquid 30 minutes. Transfer meat to a platter and cover. Strain braising liquid through a colander, pressing on solids, into a bowl. Return braising liquid to kettle and boil until reduced to 3 cups, about 30 minutes. Stew may be made up to this point 1 day ahead. Cool braising liquid completely and chill it and the beef separately, covered.
• In kettle cook green bell peppers and onion in 2 tablespoons oil over moderate heat, stirring, until softened.
• While vegetables are cooking, pull meat into shreds about 3 by 1/2 inches. To onion mixture add shredded meat, 2 cups braising liquid, tomatoes with juice, tomato paste, garlic, cumin, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste and simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes.
• While stew is simmering, in a large skillet cook red and yellow bell peppers in remaining 2 tablespoons oil over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened. Stir peppers into stew with enough additional braising liquid to thin to desired consistency and simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes. Stir in peas and olives and simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes.
• Serve ropa vieja with yellow rice.
• To make the yellow rice:
• In a heavy 3-quart saucepan heat oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and sauté cuminseed 10 seconds, or until it turns a few shades darker and is fragrant. Stir in saffron and rice and sauté, stirring, 1 to 2 minutes, or until rice is coated well. Stir in water and salt and boil rice, uncovered and without stirring, until surface of rice is covered with steam holes and grains on top appear dry, 8 to 10 minutes more. Remove pan from heat and let rice stand, covered, 5 minutes. Fluff rice with a fork.

ZARELA MARTINEZ'S ROPA VIEJA

Steps:

• Cut the flank steak in half horizontally so it will fit into a large Dutch oven. Place it in the pot and cover it with the water. Add the six whole cloves of garlic, along with the peppercorns and salt as desired. Place over low heat and bring the liquid to a simmer. Cover the Dutch oven and continue cooking over low heat, turning the meat occasionally, until it is tender and well done, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• While the meat is stewing, heat the broiler. Rinse and dry the peppers. Arrange them in a broiler pan about four inches from the flame. Roast them, turning frequently, until they are evenly blistered and charred on all sides. Transfer to a paper bag, seal it and let the peppers sit until cool enough to handle.
• Remove the cooled peppers from the bag and slice off the top of each. Scrape out the seeds and slip off the skins with your fingers (wear rubber gloves if your hands are sensitive). Slice each pepper lengthwise into strips an eighth of an inch wide. Set aside.
• When the meat is tender, remove the Dutch oven from the heat and let the meat cool in its own broth. When it cools enough to handle, remove it from the broth and place it on a cutting board. Slice the meat across the grain into strips about two inches across. Using your fingers, pull the meat into fine shreds. Return it to the cooking broth.
• Heat the lard or other fat in a large heavy skillet over medium heat until it is rippling. Crush the sliced garlic cloves and add to the hot fat. Saute for one minute, stirring frequently. Add the sliced onion and saute, stirring frequently, until it is somewhat soft, about three minutes. Add the reserved pepper strips to the pan and continue sauteing and stirring for about two minutes.
• Using a slotted spoon, transfer the peppers, onion and garlic to the Dutch oven. Cook the meat mixture, uncovered, over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the flavors are blended, about 10 to 15 minutes. Serve the meat hot, rolled up in heated flour tortillas.