Ropa vieja (, ; ) is a dish with regional variations in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

and the

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. It normally includes some form of stewed beef and tomatoes with a

sofrito (), (), (), (), () or () is a basic preparation in Mediterranean cuisine, Mediterranean, Latin American cuisine, Latin American, Spanish cuisine, Spanish, Italian cuisine, Italian and Portuguese cuisine, Portuguese cooking. It typically ...

base."Recipe: Carne Mechada/Venezuelan Shredded/Pull Beef", ''Venezuelan Cooking''
(Dec. 7 2011). Accessed August 10, 2021. Originating in Spain, it is known today as one of the

national dish A national dish is a culinary Dish (food), dish that is strongly associated with a particular country. A dish can be considered a national dish for a variety of reasons: * It is a staple food, made from a selection of locally available foodstuffs ...

es of Cuba. The name ''ropa vieja'' probably originates from the fact that it was often prepared using food left over from other meals, although it has been suggested that the name comes from the "tattered appearance" of the meat. The dish's origins appear to have first arisen among the

Sephardic Jews Sephardic Jews, also known as Sephardi Jews or Sephardim, and rarely as Iberian Peninsular Jews, are a Jewish diaspora population associated with the historic Jewish communities of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal) and their descendant ...

of the

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, as a

slow-cooked Low-temperature cooking is a cooking technique that uses temperatures in the range of about for a prolonged time to cook food. Low-temperature cooking methods include sous vide cooking, slow cooking using a slow cooker, cooking in a normal oven wh ...

stew that was prepared to be eaten over the course of a traditionally observed

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...

, a kind of cholent called "handrajos" (similar to the Spanish word " andrajos"). Eventually this dish spread to North Africa and to the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

of Spain.Scott, Lea
"A history of ropa vieja, one of Cuba's most famous and forbidden national dishes", ''WeAreMitu''
(December 20, 2019) Accessed August 10, 2021.Guy, Jac
"Ropa Vieja: How Cuba stole its national dish from the Canary Islands"
(October 9, 2017) Accessed August 10, 2021. The dish is believed to have been 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.

Regional variations

- Ropa vieja is served with both garbanzo beans and potatoes. Some versions of the dish in the Canaries include other meats, including chicken and pork. *

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

- 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 during the

Special Period The Special Period (), officially the Special Period in the Time of Peace (), was an extended period of economic crisis in Cuba that began in 1991 primarily due to the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the Comecon. The economic depression o ...

of Cuban history, after the fall of the Soviet Union. While some Cubans improvised, substituting lambThorman, Kat
"The fascinating story of Cuba's revolutionary cuisine", ''Afar''
(September 4, 2013) Accessed August 10, 2021. or pork for beef during this time (or made special efforts to find beef to make the dish) the dish became commonly available in Cuba again, starting in 2010 with the advent of independent and legal '' paladares'' in 2010. The paladares are restaurants in tourist zones, frequented by tourists and a few Cubans who can afford it. Unfortunately, most Cubans do not get to eat ropa vieja because they don't eat at paladares but rather cook their meals at home. Ropa vieja is especially popular among Cuba's Jewish community. Ropa vieja in Cuba is often served with Moros y Cristianos (dish), a form of rice and beans, and fried plantains. * In

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, 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. * In the

, ropa vieja includes fish sauce and is served with jasmine rice. * Other regions - The dish is popular in

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

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, and other parts of Latin America, as well as among immigrant communities in the United States.Kratz, Elizabet
"Sender's to serve elevated Cuban fare at Pop-up on March 10", ''JewishLink''
(March 4, 2021). Accessed August 12, 2021.

References

Andalusian cuisine Caribbean cuisine Cuban cuisine Latin American cuisine Canary Islands cuisine Filipino cuisine Beef dishes Sephardi Jewish cuisine National dishes {{cuba-cuisine-stub

Regional variations

See also

References