Ropa Vieja (Caribbean Shredded Beef)

By RecipeLot

Typical Cuban dinner consisting of ropa vieja (shredded flank steak in a tomato sauce base), black beans, white rice, plantains and fried yucca. ? Photo by Marc Averette, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Ropa vieja, which is Spanish for "old clothes," is a popular Caribbean dish consisting of shredded beef (often skirt or flank steak), vegetables, and a sauce. The origin of ropa vieja is from the Canary Islands, which are Spanish islands off the coast of North Africa in the Atlantic Ocean. The original version of Ropa Vieja contained leftovers, but later became a shredded meat dish with garbanzo beans and potatoes in the Canary Islands. Some versions in the Canary Islands contain beef or chicken or pork, or a combination of any of the three. Ropa vieja is widely prepared in the Caribbean today. Ropa vieja is listed among traditional Panamanian cuisine, Cuban cuisine, Puerto Rican cuisine, Dominican cuisine and Canarian cuisine. Below is a typical Cuban recipe, which does not include garbanzo beans.

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