Ropa vieja


Ropa vieja is one of the national dishes of Cuba, but is also popular in other areas of the region such as Puerto Rico and Panama, in Spain, and in the Philippines. It consists of shredded or pulled stewed beef with vegetables. In the Cuban cuisine of Miami, Florida, US, it is typical for ropa vieja to have a sweet undertone. While this is traditionally due to the use of fully ripe red bell peppers, it is not uncommon for recipes to include some quantity of sugar to achieve the desired degree of sweetness.
The Canary Islands in Spain have a version of the dish with potato cooked in the pot with the beef and vegetables, not needing to be eaten with rice cooked separately. It is a very traditional dish for the islands that many restaurants offer on the menu. The most common preparation in mainland Spain involves shredding and frying the leftover meat from cocido with paprika and chickpeas.