Pastelón (Puerto Rican Plantain Lasagna)
Ingredients
Homemade Sofrito (Puerto Rican Cooking Base)
1 Onion (yellow)
1 Bell pepper (green)
0.5 Bell peppers (red)
6 Garlic clove
20 g Coriander (fresh)
1 Tomatoes
1 tbsp Olive oil
Homemade Adobo Seasoning (Dry Rub)
1 tbsp Salt
1 tbsp Garlic granules or powder- 1 tsp Onion powder
1 tsp Oregano (dried)
1 tsp Black pepper
0.5 tsp Cumin (ground)
0.5 Paprika or Turmeric
Pastelón
- 6 Plantains (ripe) yellow with some black spots – not green!
Sunflower oil
700 g Beef (minced)
3 Eggs
3 tbsp Tomato paste- 200 g Cheddar cheese (grated) or Mozzarella (grated)
6 tbsp Olives (green)
3 tbsp Capers- 1 Onion (yellow)
- 0.5 Bell pepper (green)
- 0.5 Bell peppers (red)
- 3 Garlic clove
- 6 tbsp Sofrito homemade as above or shop bought
- 1 tsp Cumin (ground)
- 1 tsp Oregano (dried)
2 tsp Adobo seasoning homemade as above or shop bought- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- Salt
- Black pepper
Instructions
Homemade Sofrito (Puerto Rican Cooking Base)
- Chop the onions, bell peppers (green and red) and tomatoes.
- Add all the ingredients to a blender or food processor. Blend into a green paste.
- We'll use it in the Pastelon but you can also just store in an airtight container in the fridge (3–5 days) or freeze in cubes for up to 3 months.
Homemade Adobo Seasoning (Dry Rub)
- Mix all the ingredients together and store in a small jar. Use like any seasoning mix.
Pastelón (Main Recipe)
- Peel and slice plantains lengthwise into 4 long thin strips each.
- Heat the sunflower oil in a large frying pan over medium heat.
- Fry slices until golden and soft (2–3 mins per side). Set aside on kitchen paper.
- Dice the onion, green & red bell peppers. Slice the olives and mince the garlic.
- Heat olive oil in a large pan.
- Fry the onion and peppers until soft (5 mins).
- Add garlic and sofrito, cook for 1 min.
- Add beef mince. Brown and break up the meat.
- Stir in tomato purée, cumin, oregano, adobo seasoning, olives and capers.
- Simmer 10–15 minutes. Adjust seasoning as desired.
- Preheat oven to 190°C (fan 170°C).
- In a medium non-stick baking dish (~9×13 inches or similar), Layer in this order: Plantains (bottom), Half the meat, Sprinkle of cheese, More plantains, Sprinkle more cheese, Final layer of plantains.
- Pour beaten eggs evenly over the top (helps bind the layers). Add a final sprinkle of cheese.
- Cover with foil. Bake for 20 minutes.
- Remove foil. Bake another 10–15 minutes until golden and bubbling.
- Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing—it sets better this way.
Notes
If your plantains are still too firm, ripen them in a brown paper bag for 1–2 days at room temp. You can assemble pastelón the day before and refrigerate; bake the next day. For a vegetarian version, swap beef for lentils and adjust seasoning.
Throw in your flavor