Ropa Vieja - Cuban stewed meat

Wow. I'm a fan. This was such a good meal. So full of flavor and tender beef. Side of rice and tortillas finished the meal.  I love tearing a tortilla up in quarters, stuffing it with a yummy stewed meat and some rice.  Reminds me of my days in Mexico.

This meal was easy and tasty. It uses a lot of ingredients specifically from Goya - because, well, that's the place I got the recipe.  I followed this one completely, minus the bell pepper and sofrito (I couldn't find sofrito in my store and couldn't remember how to actually make a sofrito.)

Ropa Vieja is a main course of shredded and braised beef with plenty of healthy, tasty vegetables, like onions, peppers and olives. This recipe could feed a bunch of people and could be adjusted easily to feed a small army.


Ropa Vieja
Serves 6

• 2 T GOYA® Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 2 ½ lbs. flank steak, cut in 3”x 4”pieces
• GOYA Adobo with Pepper, to taste
• 2 large yellow onions, finely chopped (about 2½ cups)
• 1½ green bell peppers, finely chopped (about 1½ cups)
• 1 jar (6 oz.) GOYA Sofrito
• 3 tsp GOYA Minced Garlic or 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 can (8 oz.) GOYA Tomato Sauce
• 1 packet Sazón GOYA with Coriander and Annatto
• 1 packet GOYA Powdered Beef Bouillon
• ¼ tsp GOYA Ground Black Pepper
• 1 c GOYA Spanish Olives Stuffed with Minced Pimientos, sliced
• 1 jar (2 oz.) GOYA Capers, drained
• 1 T finely chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 c cooked CANILLA Extra Long Grain Rice

1.	Heat oil in large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Season meat with adobo. Add steak to pot and cook in batches, flipping once, until well browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer meat to a plate. Lower heat to medium. Stir in onions and peppers. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Add Sofrito and garlic to pot; cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
2.	Stir in 3 of cups water, tomato sauce, Sazón, beef bouillon and pepper. Bring mixture to a boil. Return beef to pot. Lower heat to medium low and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, about 45 minutes. Stir in olives and capers. Cover pot; simmer until meat shreds easily with fork, 1 – 1½ hours, adding more water in ¼ cup measurements, if pot becomes dry. [Jenn Notes: I probably used about another two cups of water. I had the heat on a little too high and it boiled down quickly. So watch your heat.]
3.	Transfer meat to work surface; shred meat with two forks. Bring remaining sauce to a boil. Mix meat and cilantro into sauce. Serve with white rice.