Ropa Vieja

Cuban food is something we dearly miss no longer being in South Florida. I have tried a number of recipes for this dish, one of Beep's favorites and mine with little success. This recipe is a hit! I decided Friday would be a great chance to try it, Beep was on his way home again from a week of working somewhere else and it was the perfect answer for a do ahead meal. I got the recipe while visiting my girlfriend in Tennessee, she had a book with basic homestyle dishes from various countries. I was so pleasantly surprised to find Ropa Veja was one of them! As with all new recipes, I made some slight changes. I always try to give the original as well as my changes. A few small ingredient changes and cooking time, I also served it with Quinoa instead of the traditional rice. We love Quinoa as a substitute, it is a yummy grain with added protien.

INGREDIENTS:
2 T Corn oil
2-3# Flank steak, split in two length wise. I used a 2# rump roast
Salt & Pepper
2 Bay leaves
1 Yellow onion, halved & un-peeled each half studded with a clove
2 Qts. Water, I used water plus 2 cups of beef broth to make a total of 2 Qts.
5 Garlic cloves
1/4 C Olive oil
1 T Cumin seeds
1 Cinnamon stick
1 Large yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 Red bell pepper, small dice
5 Plum tomatoes or 8 oz. can drained
3 T Capers, soak if they are salted, drain
Lime wedges and hot sauce for serving
Cooked Rice, I used Quinoa

PREP:
Pat the beef dry and season with salt and pepper. In a large, deep skillet or stock pot, heat the corn oil and brown the beef well on all sides. Drain any fat and cover with water/broth, 1 bay leaf, the studded onion halves and two cloves of unpeeled garlic. Turn heat to high and bring to a boil. When it comes to a boil, reduce to a simmer and partially cover, simmer for 2 hours and meat is tender.
Remove the meat from the pan to a dish and allow to cool, collecting any of it's juices. Strain the broth and reserve for later.
Peel and smash the other three garlic cloves. In the same pan, heat the olive oil until it shimmers, then add the garlic cloves, cinnamon stick and cumin seeds. Be careful not to over brown the garlic, reduce heat if needed. Heat approximately one minute, then add the onion and brown slowly over medium/low heat. Once the onions are browned add the second bay leaf and the red pepper. Cook until the peppers begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, add the tomatoes. I used fresh tomatoes, quartered and seeded them(I don't like the seeds they can make a sauce bitter). I also cooked the tomatoes long enough to remove the skin, it will peel easily after a few minutes in the hot pan. Then I added 1 cup of the broth as directed and allowed it to reduce over low heat for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, shred the beef. I added an additional 1/2 cup of the broth and mashed up the veggies with tongs to create more of a unified sauce. Remove the cinnamon stick and bay leaf, add the shredded meat and capers. It says to serve garnished with the capers, lime and hot sauce. I added the capers to the pan and allowed it to cook an additional 30 minutes so the meat could absorb the juices.
The Ropa Veja we used to get at our favorite cuban restaurants in South Florida was more of a sauce with the meat, that is why I deviated slightly from this recipe's directions, I wanted to create more of a sauce that didn't have identifiable veggies.
I am usually not a big hot sauce fan, but it was perfect with this dish, we prefer Crystal.