Ropa vieja

Cuban dish of ropa vieja (shredded flank steak in a tomato sauce base), black beans, yellow rice, plantains and fried yuca with beer.

Ropa vieja (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈro.pa ˈβje.xa]; "old clothes") is known today as one of the national dishes of Cuba, but originated in Spain^[1] and is popular in other parts of Latin America as well as the Philippines.

The dish's origins appear to have first arisen among the Sephardic Jews of the Iberian peninsula,^[2][3] as a slow-cooked stew that was prepared to be eaten over the course of a traditionally observed Shabbat, a kind of cholent called "handrajos" (similar to the Spanish word "andrajos")^[4].^[5][6] Eventually this dish spread to North Africa and to the Canary Islands of Spain.^[7][8]

The dish is believed to be have brought to the Americas by immigrants from the Canary Islands and was first reported to have been cooked in Cuba in 1857 but today is well known as a Cuban national dish.^[9][10]

The dish normally includes some form of stewed beef^[11] and tomatoes with a sofrito base.^[12] Other components of the dish vary by region.

Regional variations[]

• Canary Islands - Ropa vieja is served with both garbanzo beans and potatoes^[10][8] Some versions of the dish in the Canaries include other meats including chicken and pork.^{[citation needed]}
• Colombia - the dish is known as both "ropa vieja" and "carne desmechada" and is often served with rice, fried plantains, or arepas.^[13]
• Cuba - ropa vieja is well known as a national dish (most often served with rice and black beans), but famously was off the menu of many ordinary Cubans for a time ^[7] during the Special Period of Cuban history, after the fall of the Soviet Union. While some Cubans improvised, substituting lamb ^[14] or pork^[15] for beef during this time (or made special efforts to find beef to make the dish) ^[16] the dish became commonly available in Cuba again, starting in 2010 with the advent of independent and legal paladares in 2010.^[14] Ropa vieja is especially popular among Cuba's Jewish community.^[17] Ropa Vieja in Cuba is often served with congri rice and fried plantains.^[18]
• In Nicaragua the dish is called carne desmenuzada, or less commonly ropa vieja. It is made with green bell peppers, onions, garlic, salt, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, and mustard. It is usually served with white rice or alongside gallopinto (national dish of Nicaragua), and fried cheese, fried or boiled plantains.^[19]
• In The Philippines ropa vieja includes fish sauce and is served with jasmine rice^[7]
• Spain - ropa vieja is a make-do kind of dish in which a cook would stew leftovers in a sofrito base.^[10] Chickpeas are almost included in the Spanish version of this dish.^[20]
• Venezuela - Like its neighbor Colombia, the dish is called both "ropa vieja" and "carne desmechada."^[21] The dish is often served as a filling for arepas^[22] as well as other dishes,^[12] and is commonly prepared using the herb annatto to provide deeper color.^[23] Ropa vieja is also famously a component of the plate known as the Pabellón criollo.^[23][24]
• Other regions - The dish is popular in Honduras,^[25] Puerto Rico,^[26][27] and other parts of Latin America, as well as among immigrant communities in the USA.^[28][29]

See also[]

• List of beef dishes

References[]

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