Ropa Vieja Canaria

A traditional dish of the Canary Islands, where it is widely regarded as the home of the recipe; the name ropa vieja, literally "old clothes," refers to the rags-like look of the shredded meat. It belongs to the Spanish tradition of aprovechamiento, using the meat and chickpeas left from a puchero or cocido rather than cooking them fresh. Carried across the Atlantic by Canarian emigrants, it took root in Cuba and elsewhere in the Americas, which is why a Cuban namesake exists. The Cuban version, however, is shredded beef braised in a tomato sauce with no chickpeas; the Canarian dish is distinguished by the chickpeas and the use of two meats, beef and chicken together.

Forkfuls of soft, frayed beef and chicken tangled with whole chickpeas that break creamy in the mouth, all coated in a thick, brick-red tomato sauce. Fried potato cubes add a soft starch, and the paprika-saffron base carries a warm, savoury depth with a faint sweetness from the wine. Served hot in a deep bowl; the meat should pull apart, never chew like a stew chunk.

The meats are simmered until tender, then shredded by hand or fork so they fray into strands that soak up sauce; the chickpeas, soaked overnight, are cooked separately until creamy and starchy. The flavour base is a sofrito — onion, pepper and tomato slow-sweated in olive oil until jammy — into which garlic, paprika and a little saffron are bloomed, the warm oil releasing the paprika's colour and the saffron's aroma. Everything is then folded together over low heat so the shredded meat and chickpeas absorb the sauce, with the fried potato added near the end to keep it intact.