Ropa Vieja

Cuba (Canary Islands Spanish colonial tradition)

Ropa vieja — 'old clothes' — is Cuba's national dish: shredded flank steak braised until it falls into strands, then sautéed in a tomato and pepper sofrito with olives, capers, and cumin until each thread of beef is coated in the aromatic sauce. The name refers to the appearance of the shredded beef, which resembles colourful old rags. The braising step and the sautéing step are both essential: the braise tenderises and produces the shredded texture; the final sautéing in sofrito develops the caramelised, concentrated flavours that distinguish ropa vieja from mere braised beef. The dish's legend holds that a poor man who could not afford to buy food shredded his own clothes and cooked them with so much love they became beef.

The Cuban combination of ropa vieja, black beans, white rice, and fried plantains (pabellón criollo in the Venezuelan version) creates a nutritional and flavour matrix in which the savoury shredded beef, the earthy beans, the neutral rice, and the sweet plantains each serve a defined function.