Panamanian recipe
How to make Ropa vieja
Spain, now cooked all over Panama and the Caribbean
Beef that is simmered until soft, pulled into shreds and stewed with tomato, onion, sweet peppers and garlic. In Panama it comes on a plate with white rice, beans and a slice of fried ripe plantain.
Ingredients
- 800 g beef flank or brisket
- 1 onion, halved, plus 1 onion, sliced
- 1 red and 1 green pepper, sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin and 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- A handful of fresh coriander (or culantro), chopped
- 2 tablespoons oil, salt and pepper
Method
- Put the beef and the halved onion in a pot, cover with water, add salt and simmer gently for about 1 hour 30 minutes, until the meat is very tender. Keep a cup of the cooking liquid.
- Let the meat cool a little, then pull it into thin shreds with two forks.
- Heat the oil in a large pan and soften the sliced onion, the peppers and the garlic for about 8 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, cumin, oregano and half a cup of the cooking liquid. Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Stir in the shredded beef and cook for 15 minutes more, adding a little liquid if it gets dry. Season, scatter over the coriander and serve with rice, beans and fried ripe plantain.
Made it at home? Tick it off and it goes into your kitchen passport.
The name means 'old clothes', perhaps because the shredded meat looks like torn rags.
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