Description
Pasteles is a traditional dish that is usually prepared and enjoyed during the Christmas Holidays! Pasteles are made from a dough that consists of yautias (taro root), green bananas and green plantains that is then stuffed with a pork filling and wrapped in plantain leaves.
Scale
Ingredients
Meat Filling:
- 2 pounds pork boneless stew meat or boston butt pork roast, trimmed of excess fat, cut into ½-inch cubes
- ½ cup water
- 4 ounces lean ham, diced
- 1½ teaspoon salt (low sodium) or to taste
- ⅓ cup annatto oil
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato sauce
- 3 tablespoons sofrito
- 4 sprigs cilantro, chopped or 1 culantro leaf, chopped
- ¾ cup seedless raisins
- 20 pimento-stuffed green olives, halved
- 2 tablespoons capers, drained
- 1 can (15 ounces) garbanzo beans, with liquid
Dough Mixture:
- 10 green bananas, peeled
- 2 pounds yautía, peeled
- 2 green plantains, peeled
- 2 tablespoons salt (low sodium) or to taste
- 1⅔ cups annatto oil
- 2 cups warm skim milk
To Wrap Pasteles
- 24 banana leaves, cut into 9 x 12 inches or 12 x 12 inches
Instructions
- Rinse pork meat and place in a large saucepan.
- Pour water and cook pork meat over low heat for 15 minutes.
- Add remaining ingredients listed for the meat filling.
- Cover saucepan with lid and cook over low-medium heat for 50 minutes or until pork meat is thoroughly cooked and most of the liquid is absorbed. Set aside.
- Grate the starchy fruits and root vegetables using a food processor.
- Place dough into a large bowl and stir until well blended.
- Add salt and annatto oil and stir until the color of dough is uniform.
- Pour warm milk and stir dough until well blended.
- Clean plantain leaves with wet cloth on both sides.
- In the center of plantain leaf, place 3 heaping tablespoons of dough.
- Spread dough evenly in the center of the plantain leaf.
- Place 3 tablespoons of pork filling in the center of dough.
- Fold edges of dough towards the center to cover pork filling with a stainless steel spoon.
- Fold the plantain leaf lengthwise over dough mixture.
- Fold each end gently toward the center and place folded side down on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Steam the pasteles in a large steamer for approximately 50 minutes. If the pasteles are frozen, they need to steam for an additional 15 minutes.
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: Puerto Rican
Keywords: Pasteles
