How to Make Puerto Rican Pasteles

How to Make Puerto Rican Pasteles (paleo, AIP option)

Recipe by Amanda Torres @ The Curious Coconut

Puerto Rican pasteles are a traditional holiday dish, made of paleo-friendly starchy tropical fruits, vegetables, and roots. Minor modifications make this autoimmune paleo, and regardless of dietary preference, unrwapping these delicious treats is like opening Christmas presents!

Ingredients
 

For the masa:

• 30 green bananas (no yellow showing at all)
• 4 malanga roots (I used 2 white and 2 lilac), peeled
• 1.5 lbs calabaza squash (substitute butternut or acorn)
• 2 cups chicken bone broth
• 2 Tbsp unrefined salt

For the sofrito

• 1/2 onion
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 1 head garlic (yes, a whole head)
• 2-3 bell peppers, preferably red, orange, and/or yellow. If you can find aji dulce peppers, use a few of those, too
• small bunch fresh oregano, or about 1/2 to 1 Tb dried (to taste)
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp unrefined salt (to taste)

Nightshade-free AIP alternative to sofrito - substitute the following for the peppers listed above:

• 2-3 stalks of celery
• 2-3 carrots, peeled

For the aciete de achiote (optional, omit for AIP)

• 1/2 cup lard or olive oil
• 2 Tbsp whole annatto seeds (achiote)

For the meat filling

• 6 Tbsp aciete de achiote or plain lard or olive oil
• 6 Tbsp sofrito
• 2 pounds chicken or pork, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 jar (2.25 oz) capers, drained
• 4 culantro leaves (substitute 1/3 bunch of cilantro)
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp unrefined salt

To assemble the pasteles

• 5 packs banana leaves, rinsed and cut into roughly 12"-16" squares; alternatives: "pasteles paper" from a Latin market, or plain parchment paper, cut into sheets about 12" by 16-18"
• 1 jar green olives (read lables to ensure no weird additives or preservatives)
• 1 roll kitchen twine, cut into strings about 1 yard long (approximately the armspan of an adult)

For each pastele use the following

• 2-3 banana leaves OR 1 banana leaf and one sheet pastele/parchment paper OR 1-2 sheets pastele/parchment paper
• 1 Tbsp aciete de achiote or plain olive oil or melted lard
• 1/2 cup masa
• 2-3 Tbsp meat filling
• 1-3 green olives

Cooking Directions

1. The day before you want to make the pasteles, there are several things you can do to prep. The first is to make the masa (dough). To prepare the green bananas (WATCH THE VIDEO!): use a knife to cut the tips off both ends. Cut a slit running the length of each banana into the peel (not the fruit) with the knife, then peel away the outer skin by working your thumbs into the slit. Use the knife to shave away any fragments of peel left on the banana. Cut or break into about 4 pieces. To prepare the malanga/yautia: use a sharp vegetable peeler to peel the skins off. Cut into coarse chunks. To prepare the squash: if using calabaza, it was likely already cut into a portion at the grocery store. Remove seeds and cut away outer skin. If using an alternative squash like butternut, cut in half, scoop out seeds, and peel away outer skin. Cut into chunks.
2. Traditional method for making the dough: use a box grater to grate all of the vegetables. I do not recommend this method as it is so time consuming! But, if you have a large group of people and several graters, go for it! Shortcut Method: use your high-speed blender (like Ninja, Vitamix, or Blendtec) to puree all of the starches. Work in batches and add chicken broth a few tablespoons at a time as needed to get even blending. Add each batch of pureed veggies to a very large bowl. Add the 2 Tbsp salt. Use your hands to really dig in and evenly combine everything into a uniform, evenly mixed dough.
3. Place masa in the fridge in a covered bowl overnight. This prevents the dough from tasting bitter and also makes it easier to work with.
4. Still the day before: make sofrito/AIP alternative: Combine onion, cilantro, peeled garlic, peppers (or celery and carrots), and oregano in a blender or food processor and blend until it makes a paste. After you make the pasteles, don't forget to freeze the leftovers (use an ice cube tray to freeze in portions).
5. If you want to dye your fat with annatto Add lard or olive oil to a small saucepan and heat over medium for several minutes, until you see the first tiny bubble form, then turn off the heat, add seeds, and stir often. Continue stirring for several minutes until you have a deep orange/red oil. BE CAREFUL not to heat the oil too hot; this will cause the seeds to turn black and the oil to turn green and you will have to throw everything away and start over.
6. I also recommend cooking the meat the day before and chilling it in the fridge overnight. In a large skillet, heat the 6 Tbsp oil (dyed or not) over medium heat with the 6 Tbsp of sofrito for about 1-2 minutes, until nice and fragrant. Add pork or chicken chunks, culantro leaves, oregano, salt, and drained capers and saute until meat is cooked through.
7. One last task for the day before: remove banana leaves from freezer and place in the fridge to allow them to thaw.
8. The Big Day: Begin by preparing the banana leaves. You will need a lot of counter space or a table to work on. Spread the leaves out and cut out the central stalk and discard. Cut leaves into equal-sized squares, about 12"-16" inches square. Discard any leaves that have large tears in them because you don't want your dough leaking out! Rinse leaves under cool water briefly, pat dry with a clean cloth, and then stack them together. They can stay a little wet -- you can dry them off individually as you wrap them. I keep a towel with me for that purpose. Get your assembly line sation set up with the banana leaves, your bowl of masa, your olives, your meat, and your oil (dyed or not).
9. If you can't find banana leaves, you can use parchment paper. Your Latin market likely sells it in packs with 25-50 sheets pre-measured to be around 18" by 12" for pasteles/hallacas/tamales and sold in the produce section near the unrefrigerated root vegetables. You can ask someone for "pasteles paper" and they will probably know what you are talking about. If not, use regular parchment paper cut to size.
10. If you can find banana leaves, but don't want to fool with wrapping the pasteles in all the leaves, you can cut a small piece of leaf out and place it in the center of your parchment paper. It can be small, like 6-8 inches by 2-3 inches -- just enough to have contact with the masa and infuse some flavor.
11. Assemble the pasteles (WATCH THE VIDEO, PLEASE!!!): Begin by greasing the center of your banana leaf with about 1 Tbsp of oil. Add 1/2 cup masa on top of the oil and spread evenly into an oval shape with a spoon. Next, layer about 2-3 Tbsp of meat mixture off-center away from you in the masa. Place several olives in the meat mixture. Fold the pasteles by grabbing the banana leaf edge closest to you and folding up. Lay the leaf flat and press down from the top with your hands to create a straight edge in the dough, then fold the top down, trying to meet the top edge with the folded edge. Then, use your hands to shape the sides, being careful not to press to hard so as to force all the dough out the other side. Fold the sides up, then wrap in a second banana leaf. Use a third leaf if necessary. Then, tie with string. I can't explain in words, you just have to watch the video! It is impossible to do this correctly just by reading words alone. I watched my mother-in-law make these several times before attempting myself.
12. If using parchment paper, lay it so that the long edge is running from your left to right (and not top to bottom). Use the same procedure for filling them, but when you fold it, line the edges of the paper together and then fold them down about 1/2-1 inch, then fold the top edge down to the crease. Fold up the sides and tie with string. You should only need 1 piece of parchment paper but may use 2 if it doesn't seem secure enough. PLEASE WATCH THE VIDEO AS THIS IS DIFFICULT TO EXPLAIN IN WORDS!
13. My mother-in-law warned me to always make one pastele, boil it, and taste it before proceeding with assembling the whole batch. This is to make sure the dough has a good flavor and is salted enough. It's up to you!
14. After you finish, pat yourself on the back and high five your friends or family who helped you. Good job! You can freeze your extra pasteles to enjoy later. I've kept them for up to a year and they've been fine. To cook them, add to a pot of boiling water and cook covered for about 30 minutes. They do float, so about halfway through it's usually a good idea to flip them over. If cooking from frozen, increase time to about 40-45 minutes.
15. Carefully remove from the boiling water and place on a plate. Use kitchen shears to cut away the string. Very carefully open up the leaves or paper to expose the cooked goodness inside.