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Panamanian Ropa Vieja

A slow‑cooked stew of flank steak, tomatoes, and vegetables simmered until tender.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 17 ingredients
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Why it works: Oregano and cumin match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 983 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓

Panamanian Ropa Vieja

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Season the beef with salt, sazón, cumin, oregano, garlic powder, and pepper, and coat well.

  2. Whisk together the tomato paste, wine, and broth in a medium bowl. If you're cooking this dish on the stove, use 3 cups of broth—you'll need more since some of it will evaporate on the stove.

Build the base

  1. Sauté the vegetables: If using an Instant Pot, set it to the sauté setting. Add the oil and then the onions, bell peppers, and garlic. Cook for 3–4 minutes until softened. Then press cancel. If using the stove, sauté the vegetables in a large Dutch oven on medium‑high heat.

  2. Nestle the meat into the onions so half are on the bottom and half are above the meat. Add the carrots, olives, bay leaves, and cilantro (if using). Pour the tomato mixture over everything.

Cook and serve

  1. Cook: If using an Instant Pot, put the lid on, and cook on high for 45 minutes. Once done, unplug the pot, and do a natural release. If using the stove, bring the pot to a boil, cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the meat easily shreds. It should take about 1½–2 hours. Add more water if it gets too dry.

  2. Shred the beef, discard the bay leaves, and top with more cilantro if desired.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

719Calories
62 gProtein
34 gFat
34 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 17 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Beef100g cooked250
Chicken100g cooked165
Vegetable1 tbsp (14g)120
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Red Bell Pepper1 medium (119g)31
Wine2 tbsp cooking wine (30ml)25
Carrot1 medium (61g)25
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Cumin1 tsp ground (2.1g)8
Clove1 tsp ground (2g)7
Black Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Oregano1 tsp dried (1.8g)5
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Olive1 large (4g)4
Bay Leaf1 leaf (0.6g)2
Cilantro1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)1
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Wikibooks Cookbook.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Oregano + cumintop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together983 recipes

    Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

  2. Garlic + oniontop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  3. Garlic + cumintop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together5,082 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

  4. Oregano + tomatotop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,767 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-hexenal (green, leafy).

  5. Oregano + garlictop 2% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together3,756 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Flank steak
Becomes tender and shreddable through long moist cooking that breaks down its connective tissue.
Tomato paste
Adds concentrated tomato flavor, deep color, and body to the sauce.
Yellow or white onion
Softens and sweetens as it cooks, forming the flavor base of the sauce.
Green and red bell peppers
Soften during cooking and add sweetness and aromatic depth to the sauce.
Dry white wine
Adds acidity and aromatic complexity that helps balance the rich tomato and beef.
Carrots
Add gentle sweetness and body to the sauce as they soften.

The step that matters

Cook until the meat easily shreds. Flank steak is lean and tough, so it needs long, low, moist cooking for connective tissue to break down. Cooking too briefly leaves it chewy and hard to shred, while the liquid must be kept topped up so the meat does not dry out.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (oregano, garlic, cumin, pepper, tomato, chicken, white wine):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Spinachfits better
  3. Eggplantfits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against oregano, garlic, cumin, pepper, tomato, chicken, white wine. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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