Ropa Vieja Stuffed Onion
Leftovers of the classic Cuban stew ropa vieja are repurposed into cheesy stuffed onions.
Servings: 5
Ingredients
- 2 pounds bottom loin tri tip or flank steak
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 green bell pepper, sliced thin
- 1 large onion, sliced thin
- 1 can chipotle pepper in adobo sauce plus 1 tablespoon of the sauce from the can
- ½ cup white wine
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatos
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 pinch allspice
- ½ cup chopped green olives
- 5 large onions
- 4 ounces pepperjack cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325℉
- Heat some oil in a dutch oven or oven safe pot. Add the meat and cook on high heat to brown. Flip and brown on all sides.
- Turn heat to medium and add the garlic. Cook 1 minute, stirring.
- Add all of the remaining ingredients except for the olives. Move everything around in the pan a little to combine the liquids and spices but don’t worry about it too much. Place the pot into the oven and allow to cook for two and a half hours.
- Remove pot from the oven and shred the meat and stir everything together. If the meat won’t shred, return to the oven and continue to cook until it is tender enough.
- Add the olives and cook 15 more minutes.
- Preheat oven to 400℉.
- Chop the top off the onions. Peel the onions and use a spoon to hollow them out. You will be crying during this step because the spoon will bruise the onions. Bring them down to only one layer. The core at the bottom might pop out, and if that happens, just use one of the internal layers of the onion to block the hole.
- Stuff the ropa vieja into the onions. Make sure to add some of the juices. Brush the outside of the onion with vegetable oil.
- Bake the onions for 45 minutes to an hour until the onions are tender. Top with cheese and bake another 10 minutes.
- Serve with rice and sweet plantains.
