Recipes

Vegan Jackfruit Ropa Vieja

Posted by cubanovegano on

Ropa Vieja is a Cuban classic and was a weekly staple growing up. I’ve updated my grandfather’s recipe to feature Jackfruit as this dish’s star.

A rich tomato stew with onions, peppers, olives and familiar Cuban spices. The Jackfruit becomes tender and shreds like the “old clothes” this dish was named after.

Ingredients

Veggies

  • 1 20 oz. can of jackfruit (drain the brine)
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 1 tomato, diced
  • 1/2 red pepper, sliced
  • 1/2 yellow pepper, sliced
  • 1/2 cilantro bunch, chopped
  • 4 cloves of garlic, grated
  • 1 small can of tomato sauce

Seasoning

  • 1 tbsp of salt
  • 2 tbsp paprika
  • 1 tbsp cumin
  • 2 tsp of oregano
  • 1 tsp of black pepper
  • 1 tsp tomato paste
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 2 bay leafs
  • 1/2 cup of pimento studded Spanish olives, halved
  • 1/2 cup dry white wine
  • 1 tbsp of olive oil
  • 1 cup veggie stock
SERVING
4 Servings		PREP TIME
20 Minutes		COOK TIME
45		TOTAL
65 Minutes

Instructions

Start the sofrito (the base)

  1. In a pot heat up olive oil to medium heat.
  2. Add in onions and stir till translucent.
  3. Add in garlic, tomato, tomato paste and spices.
  4. Stir mixture to incorporate all the spices.
  5. Continue cooking for 5 minutes.
  6. Deglaze pot with dry cooking wine. Make sure to loosen up brown bits with a wooden spoon.

Continue cooking

  1. Add in the peppers, tomato sauce and jackfruit.
  2. Stir in 1 cup of vegetable stock.
  3. Add in olives.
  4. Cook for 25 minutes on medium heat occasionally stirring.
  5. Mash jackfruit piece with backside of wooden spoon. This helps break up the fiber and get the shredded texture we’re looking for.
  6. Continue to cook until everything has thickened to a hearty stew.
  7. Stir in parsley.

How to serve

There’s so much rich flavor packed into this dish, you really don’t need to do much else. I like to simply serve this up with rice, avocado salad and few lime wedges.

Leftovers from this recipe can be served in many ways. One of my favorite things to do is make empanadas with the filling, and freeze them. They’re like Cuban, vegan hot pockets ready to go.

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