Hello readers! Right now I’m soaking up some sun up at Lake Winnipesaukee in NH for my vacation! (A much needed one might I add!) I hope you’re all staying cool during this hot week, but in case you’re looking to spice things up, I have a great guest post for you! My fabulous friend and organizer of the Boston Brunchers, Renee from Eat.Live.Blog made some great looking Ropa Vieja! Take a look and be sure to check out her blog and the brunchers blog. This girl is amazing!

One of the most fabulous things about running the Boston Brunchers, besides the food, is that I get to meet amazing people, like our fabulous Cooking Whims author Megan! I would never have gotten this far with my personal blog (Eat.Live.Blog) without the motivation I get from the community of bloggers here in Boston!

On my blog, I write about all things food, travel and New England related. I review restaurants and products, I create my own recipes and reproduce others’ recipes, and I roam around the area looking for hidden gems few have found.

By now my regular readers know that I grew up in the heavy Cuban influenced Tampa Bay, FL area. Before my first Spanish lesson in 6th grade I already had a couple of phrases under my belt, cierra la boca, sientate, picadilla and ropa vieja. The last 2 are the most important.

 

Cuban food is like nothing else. It is loaded with flavors and textures that, in my humble opinion, can out taste-bud almost all other ethnic food groups! Cuban recipes are loaded with seasoning and flavor, yet they tend to do so in a way that doesn’t overwhelm. Plus, everything is served with a side of platanos maduras can’t be bad!

I originally posted the recipe for Ropa Vieja back in the early days of my blog. And, rookie mistake, forgot to take pictures!  I thought that with the heat in Boston this past week, this would be a perfect recipe. You throw it in the crockpot and only turn the stove on for a quick browning, perfect!

Ropa Vieja

Ingredients

• Olive Oil
• 1.5 lb bottom roast or flank steak
• 14 oz beef broth’
• 8 oz tomato sauce
• 6 oz tomato paste
• 1 small onion, sliced
• 1 small green bell pepper (seeded & sliced)
• 1 small red bell pepper (seeded & sliced)
• 2 large cloves garlic (chopped)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro or parsley (chopped)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar

Directions

• Drizzle olive oil in a pan and heat on medium-high
• Brown all sides of the meat in the pan
• Meanwhile, pourbroth, tomato sauce, paste, cumin, parsley or cilantro, olive oil and vinegar into your crockpot, stir well, and put temperature on high
• When meat is brown, add it to the crockpot
• Add onions, garlic and peppers to the crockpot
• Cover and allow to cook on high for 4 hours, or on low for 8 hours
• When meat is tender, shred it and place back in the crockpot
• Cook on high for an additional 30 minutes (or longer if desired)
• Serve over yellow rice

Are you interested in guest posting for Cooking Whims? I’d love to hear from you! Shoot me an email at cookingwhims@gmail.com or DM me on Twitter — @cookingwhims