Ropa Vieja

 

 

Ingredients:

• 3lbs of flank steak, cut in half
• Water
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped finely
• 1 green & red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 tablespoon kosher salt
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 ½ tablespoon of cumin
• 1 tablespoon Complete seasoning (found in the ethnic food aisle)
• ½ teaspoon of cumin seeds
• 2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
• ½ cup of dry cooking wine
• 3 tablespoon of Olive Oil
• 2 bay leaves

Directions:

1. Place the 3 flank steak in the pressure cooker. Fill with water to about halfway of the pot. Bring water to a boil and place the lid on. Pressure cook the meat until is very tender, about 45 minutes. (Or in a stockpot for 2 hours, meat needs to be fork tender).
2. Remove the meat from the water, and place in a large bowl. You need to shred the meat into very thin slices. This process gets a little messy and time consuming, but I use my hands to separate the flank steak to resemble shredded meat. Afterwards, heavily salt the meat about 2 tablespoons or so. Set the meat aside. (You can do this step a day before).
3. In a large saute pan, add the olive oil – enough to cover the middle of the pan. Prepare the sofrito – add the onions and peppers and sauté for 5 to 10 minutes until translucent. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the shredded meat, tomato sauce, tomato paste, cumin, cumin seeds, complete seasoning, cooking wine, bay leaves and let it simmer for 10 minutes with the lid on. Mix everything well.
4. Season with salt and pepper to taste.