This dish has range, making it a forever favorite of hers \u2014 and ours, here at Familia Kitchen. We are devoted to ropa vieja (for all the same one-pot-wonder reasons we love arroz con pollo<\/a>), and are are honored to showcase this new-to-us recipe from Patty. Actually, she\u2019s Chef Patty, teaching at the Miami Culinary Institute<\/a> and offers cooking classes at her home in Miami.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the heart of her cooking and<\/em> her cookbook are soulful recipes like this one, steeped in her childhood memories. \u201dIt’s the dish that my family would prepare when they wanted to splurge and feed a crowd \u2014 an upgraded version of picadillo<\/a>,\u201d Patty says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Patty grew up in both Miami and Puerto Rico. She tells us she\u2019s always loved to cook and entertain, skills she inherited from both her Cuban parents, who loved nothing more than to throw a party, make a lot of delicioso food, and invite everyone over. Her family food heritage and love language are definitely cooking Cuban, she explains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRopa vieja is the ultimate comfort food!,\u201d says Patty. Its name in Spanish means \u201cold clothes\u201d \u2014 most likely a reference to how the piece-y stew looks when its beef strands are simmering in a large pot, a bit like wrung-out clothes in a hand-washing tub, although there is lots of folklore explaining its curious name.<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The dish\u2019s history is fascinating, says Patty. \u201cKnown as the national dish of Cuba, ropa vieja has roots dating back to the Middle Ages in Spain, particularly among the Sephardic Jews. It\u2019s believed to have been brought to Cuba by immigrants from the Canary Islands<\/a>, with the first recorded citation of the dish in Cuba in 1857. So iconic is ropa vieja to comida Cubana that it\u2019s practically a given on the menu of any Cuban restaurant.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Does Chef Patty remember learning to make ropa vieja for the first time?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Surprisingly, no, she says. \u201cNo one ever sat me down to teach me how to make it step by step,\u201d Patty smiles. \u201dI grew up watching my grandmother and mom take a large piece of flank steak, cook it in the pressure cooker, then shred and divide the beef in half. One half would be braised in a tomato sauce and wine mixture to make ropa vieja, while the other half would go into a beef soup made with the flavorful broth from the pressure cooker, along with malanga, potatoes, carrots, and fideos (vermicelli noodles).\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now that Patty\u2019s the one teaching the recipe to her<\/em> kids, how often does she cook ropa vieja for her family? (Because, we get it. It\u2019s not hard to make, but the dish does take a good 2 hours to braise on the stove, after all. Ropa vieja demands un poquito de planning.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Big dish, big payoff, says Patty. \u201cI usually make ropa vieja when I want to prepare an elevated Cuban dish. Whether it’s for Sunday family dinners, a Cuban-themed cooking class \u2014 or, when I’m feeling prepared: Making enough to have leftovers for ropa vieja sliders on game day<\/a>, it’s always a hit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s right! Wach this space. We\u2019ll be posting Patty\u2019s recipe for ropa vieja sliders next week, just in time for your Super B Big Game<\/a> watch-party snack prep!<\/p>\n\n\n\n One last question for Chef Patty: What does she think makes her ropa vieja so double-extra delicioso Spices, it turns out. \u201cI think most Cubans have adopted the habit of using a packet of Saz\u00f3n Goya (I know my Mom did). But since I\u2019m familiar with the spices in the packet, I prefer to make my own mix. I also add a dash of hot sauce for an extra kick,\u201d says Patty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Patty also shakes things up with her choice of beef, she adds. \u201cFlank steak is the traditional cut for this recipe, but sometimes, when I want a richer, fattier flavor, I\u2019ll use chuck. It\u2019s also delicious and gives the dish a little extra depth compared to lean flank steak. That said, I\u2019ll admit flank steak gives the strands a longer texture, which is more authentic in appearance!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Aut\u00e9ntico and delicioso, our favorite kind of Latino homecooking. Gracias, Chef Patty! \u2764\ufe0f\ud83c\udde8\ud83c\uddfa<\/p>\n\n\n\n For more of our favorite of Patty\u2019s Cuban dishes, check out her Cuban pollo a la chorrera <\/a>(the winner of our arroz con pollo food fight<\/a>), her arroz congri,<\/a> and her chorizo and black bean dip<\/a>, another perfecto party appetizer and Sunday game-time snack.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe History of Ropa Vieja in Cuban Cuisine<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
How Did Chef Patty Learn to Make Ropa Vieja?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Ready to Make Patty\u2019s Legendary Cuban Ropa Vieja?<\/h2>\n\n\n
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