recipe-1

Recipe-1 › Curries of the world › Ropa vieja

All over Cuba, Cuba

Ropa vieja

Cuba’s national dish: shredded beef in a sauce of tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic and cumin. The name means “old clothes”.

Ropa vieja
Close to the base recipe Mild

New here? How this page works

Recipe-1 is one simple curry recipe in nine steps: fry onions and green chillies, add your vegetables or meat, add chilli powder and turmeric, then water and salt, and boil. With small changes the same nine steps make curries from all over the world.

This page takes those nine steps and shows what to change to make Ropa vieja. You don’t need to read anything else first: every base step is written out below. The changes are worked out on paper from what is typical for this dish; not yet kitchen-tested. Cooked it? Tell others how it went.

Green: the base recipe step (crossed out = do not use it for this dish)Red: what to do instead for Ropa vieja

See the full base recipe (with timers and tips) · See all curries on the world map

You’ll need

How many people?4

The amounts change with the number of people; cooking times stay about the same (use a bigger pot for more). Taste as you go: you can always add more chilli or salt, but you cannot take it out.

Main ingredient: 1 kg Flank steak, simmered whole and shredded.

From the base recipe

  • 1 Onions
  • Green chillies not used
  • 3 tbsp Cooking oil
  • Red chilli powder not used
  • Turmeric not used
  • 1 tsp · 250 ml Salt and water
  • Ginger garlic paste not used
  • Cloves, cardamom and cinnamon not used
  • Garam masala (optional) not used

Add for Ropa vieja

  • 1 · 1 Green and red peppers
  • 250 ml Tomato sauce
  • 4 Garlic
  • 1 tsp · 1 tsp Cumin and oregano
  • 2 Bay leaves
  • 1 handful Olives (optional)

Leave out

  • Green chillies
  • Chilli powder
  • Turmeric
  • Garam masala

The nine steps, with the changes

Where a step has a red line, do the red line and not the crossed-out green base step. Steps with only green are done just as in the base recipe.

  1. Base step: do not useCut onions and chillies.

    Ropa vieja: do thisSlice the onions and peppers; skip the chillies.

  2. Base step: do not useFry in some oil for around 4 minutes on medium-high heat.

    Ropa vieja: do thisFry with garlic.

  3. Base step: do not useCut the vegetable(s) of your choice.

    Ropa vieja: do thisSimmer the beef in water with bay for 2 hours, then shred it; keep the broth.

  4. Base step: do not useAdd them and fry for around 4 minutes on medium-high heat.

    Ropa vieja: do thisAdd the shredded beef.

  5. Base step: do not useAdd red chilli powder and turmeric.

    Ropa vieja: do thisAdd cumin and oregano instead of chilli and turmeric.

  6. Keep frying until just before they start browning.

  7. Base step: do not useAdd some water.

    Ropa vieja: do thisAdd tomato sauce and a cup of the broth.

  8. Add salt.

  9. Base step: do not useBoil until the gravy is as thick as you like.

    Ropa vieja: do thisSimmer 20 minutes until the sauce clings to the beef.

Serve: With rice, black beans and fried plantains.

For meat and seafood, make sure it is cooked through: chicken until no pink remains inside; mutton, goat and beef need long, slow cooking.

← Chili con carneAll curries on the mapPollo guisado →

Food marks, as on packaged food in India: vegetarian · non-vegetarian (meat, fish or egg). Dishes with both marks can be made either way.

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