Chicken Ropa Vieja

Description

Ropa Vieja is a mainstay of the Cuban-American diet. It’s traditionally made with skirt steak, a stringy cut of meat with the poetic name fajita (girdle) in Spanish. This recipe uses chicken breast and is fantastic; the leftovers are even better. It is wonderful served with white rice and fried plantains or a pineapple-coconut slaw.

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast
  • 1 small onion, quartered
  • 1 tomato, quartered
  • 1 carrot, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
  • 2 cloves garlic, peeled
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 small onion, thinly sliced
  • ½ green bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
  • ½ red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
  • ¼ cup tomato puree
  • ¼ cup dry white wine
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin, or to taste
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Place chicken
  2. onion
  3. tomato
  4. carrot
  5. and 2 cloves garlic into a large pot. Add water to cover
  6. then bring to a boil. Skim and discard the foam that floats to the surface. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer uncovered until chicken is tender
  7. 30 to 40 minutes.
  8. Place chicken into a bowl and shred it into strips as thick as a pencil; set aside. Strain and reserve cooking liquid; discard vegetables.
  9. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion
  10. bell peppers
  11. and minced garlic. Cook and stir until vegetables have softened
  12. 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in tomato purée
  13. white wine
  14. chicken
  15. and enough of the reserved broth to create a thick sauce. Season with cumin
  16. salt
  17. and pepper. Simmer until sauce is slightly reduced and coats chicken
  18. about 5 minutes.

Prep Time: 40 mins

Cook Time: 45 mins

Total Time: 1 hr 25 mins

Servings: 4

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