Ropa Vieja Recipe | Southwestern Beef Recipes And Pork Recipes | Mexican Recipes

How to prepare "ropa vieja"

ropa vieja

"ropa vieja" means "old clothes," for the consistency of the shredded beef.

serves 4 to 6.

1 (2 1/2 pound) flank steak
1 carrot
1 onion
1 celery stalk
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 green chiles (at your preferred heat level), seeded and chopped
4 chopped, seeded tomatoes or 2 cups canned tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
cayenne pepper

put the flank steak, carrot, onion and celery stalk in a heavy pot and cover with water. bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook, covered, for 1 1/2 hours or so. remove from the heat and let cool. shred meat using your hands or two forks.

in a large frying pan, heat olive oil and sauté onion, garlic and green pepper until the onion is translucent. add green chiles, tomatoes and tomato paste. add a cup or two of the stock in which you cooked the steak, and add the beef. the consistency should be thicker than soup. add a dash of cayenne pepper if you like. let it simmer for five minutes.

serve over rice and garnish with baby peas and/or chopped pimientos.