One Pot Ropa Vieja

I wrote a Mode story last night about the best places to find a Cuban sandwich in Tampa, or why Tampa Bay’s Cubans are better than Miami’s. We’ve officially won in different contests, you know. And it’s no surprise. Tampa Bay has tons of Cuban influence, although we don’t have Gloria Estefan, which is a little upsetting. While I was writing my contributor post, I remembered that I made one pot Ropa Vieja not too long ago and then COMPLETELY FORGOT TO BLOG ABOUT IT. Shame on me.

Actually, I’m sorry to say that I’ve been holding out many recipes. I have a whole bunch of photos edited and ready to go, but my fingers just haven’t felt like chatting, I guess.

I brought myself back to this recipe and now I’m all sitting at work and wanting to just go home and cook. Cook, cook, cook. Cook this ropa vieja, cook black beans and rice, cook yucca, cook picadillo. Basically all the Cuban foods that mark my childhood. And then maybe I’ll go into an Italian phase because I’ve been needing some freshly made pappardelle in my life lately.

So, okay, I’m going on a cruise in 3 weeks and so I should really cool it, but I can’t stop the urge!

Ropa Vieja sounds so fancy schmancy to the average person, but I’ll let you in on a little secret because we’re friends. Lean in close.

Ropa Vieja is just beef stewed with vegetables.

Done right, the beef in the dish is shredded and then, like, little unicorns and daisies explode all over your plate because you’re so happy.

Wait, I don’t really want unicorns to explode. I’m an animal activist! I can’t promise to always have the right thing to say. But you get the point, right? I mean, really, when beef can just fall apart like that and you have the most delicious sauce, and the vegetables are stewed to perfection, your life is complete. Even if you live in a condo that’s too small and so you have to use a bathroom as your spare storage space. Trust me, I know.

And it’s one pot! This is important to note because I don’t know a single person who actually enjoys doing dishes, do you? Yeah, that’s because they don’t exist. You especially don’t enjoy doing dishes when your kitchen sink is miniature and just having a normal dinner causes it to overrun with kitchen items. Trust me, I know.

Plus, being a one pot meal means you spend less time coordinating your dish. You sauté the veggies up real nice, add everything else to the mix, and then set it to cook for however long. Hand clap! 👏🏼

If you’ve been following this blog for a little bit now, you know that I’ve said on multiple occasions how much I love meals that just fill the house with delicious food scents. It’s comforting and you don’t even have to waste any of your Birthday Cake candle from Yankee Candle.

Serve with a glass of red wine because you deserve it.

Print Recipe

One Pot Ropa Vieja

Yield: 4-6

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 5 hours

Total Time: 5 hours, 25 minutes

This one pot ropa vieja recipe will make your family sing your praises for being a kitchen ninja. It's beef shredded with vegetables, what could get better than that?

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds flank steak
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 large onion, halved and sliced
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• Splash of vinegar
• 1 can diced tomatoes, with juices
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 teaspoon dried cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 2 tablespoons dried parsley

Directions:

1. Pat the steak dry and season liberally with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add the steak, searing and browning on all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove from pot to a paper towel-lined plate.
2. Reduce heat to medium (add more olive oil if needed) and add onion, carrots, and red bell pepper. Sauté for 5 minutes, or under soft, but with a little bit of a bite remaining. Add garlic and cook another 1-2 minutes. Add the splash of vinegar and stir.
3. Add can of diced tomatoes, with their juices, tomato paste, bay leaf, dried oregano, dried cumin, and dried basil. Stir to combine. Add meat back to pot.
4. Over pot, reduce heat to low, and cook 5 hours, or until meat is cooked through and soft enough to shred with a fork.
5. Remove pot from heat, shred the meat, and add the parsley on top.
6. Have a glass of wine because you deserve it.