Meal Prep: Ropa Vieja (Shredded Beef)

Helga Glaesel de BlandingJanuary 12, 2021

This post is also available in / Esta entrada también está disponible en ESPAÑOL (SPANISH)

We love our slow cooker, we try using it every week for our Meal Prep menus, especially in colder months where you can make comforting stews that are the perfect type of recipes for it.

This beef recipe, called Ropa Vieja, is originally from Cuba. It is basically shredded beef cooked with tomatoes and bell peppers, and you can serve it as a bowl with any of these additions: plantains, cabbage, roasted potatoes, rice, black beans, green olives, cilantro, tomatoes. We chose to pair the recipe with rice, fried plantains, and red cabbage. Cabbage is so full of nutrients and has so many health benefits, that we try to incorporate it as much as we can into our recipes.

We recommend that you don’t skip the browning of the meat step, we know it means having to wash up a frying pan, but we promise that the difference in flavor between browning the meat, and not browning it makes it worth it. This applies to any beef recipe for a slow cooker.

We’d love to know if you try this recipe! You can tag us using #thefoodieskitchen

Helga

Ropa Vieja (Shredded Beef)

Adapted from The Roasted Root
Recipe serves 6

Ingredients, for the sauce:
1 medium onion chopped
2 green bell pepper cored and chopped
2 cups tomato sauce
2 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoon cider vinegar
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ tablespoon garlic powder
1 bay leaf

Ingredients, for the beef:
2 lbs beef for shredding, such as flank
2 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon olive oil

Ingredients, for the bowls:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large plantains peeled and sliced diagonally
½ small head red cabbage thinly sliced
4 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 vine-ripened tomatoes chopped
½ cup cilantro chopped, optional
Cooked white rice for serving

Procedure:

To make the sauce, add all ingredients for the sauce to the slow cooker and stir well.
Next, season the beef with garlic powder and sea salt. Heat the oil to medium-high in a thick-bottomed pan. Sear the meat for a couple of minutes, just until the outside is browned. Transfer the meat to a slow cooker and nestle it in the sauce. (the sauce does not have to cover the meat).
Cover and set your slow cooker on low and cook 6 to 8 hours, flipping the meat halfway through, if possible, or until beef is very tender. Transfer the beef to a cutting board and use two forks to shred it.
Transfer the shredded beef back into the slow cooker with the sauce and stir well so the meat absorbs the flavor of the sauce.
Fry the plantains by adding a bit of oil to a skillet over medium-high. Once the oil is all the way hot carefully place sliced plantains in the oil. Cook until golden-brown and crispy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Carefully flip and cook on the other side an additional 2 to 3 minutes, until plantains have reached the desired level of crispiness. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate, sprinkle with sea salt, and repeat for remaining plantains.
Place sliced red cabbage in a mixing bowl and add the lime juice. Firmly massage the lime juice into the red cabbage until it begins to soften, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle with sea salt to taste.
Divide some white rice between 4 to 6 bowls and add the desired amount of shredded beef and cabbage. Serve with fried plantains, tomatoes, and fresh cilantro.

Have you made this recipe? Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and share a picture with the hashtag #thefoodieskitchen!

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