Pastelón – Sweet Plantain Puerto Rican Lasagna
By: The Posh Latin Cook
Published: Sunday, March 3, 2013 - 3:17pm

Ingredients




1.5 lbs. Ground Meat. – I use 95% lean.
1 Spanish Onion Chopped
1 Cubenelle Pepper Chopped
1 Red Bell Pepper Chopped
5 Cilantro Sprigs – detach leaves and chop
2 tbsp Roasted Garlic
4 tbsp Sofrito
2 tbsp Pitted Alcapparado
1 tsp Salt
1.2 tsp Oregano
1/2 Black Pepper
1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1 Bay Leaf
1/2 cup Red Wine
1 tbsp Olive Oil
2 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 cup Sweet Peas
1 cup Roasted Tomatoes
1 can Spanish Tomato Sauce
4 ripe Plantains
1/2 Stick Butter (4oz)
1/4 cup Heavy Cream
Lasagna Pan or Loaf Pan
Parchment Paper – Cut to pan size
1 Banana Leaf – Cut to pan size
1/4 cup Puerto Rican Cheese – Or any Spanish frying cheese
1/4 cup Grated Cheddar Cheese
1/2 cup Grated Mozzarella Cheese
2 Eggs
Salt & Pepper

Preparation

1 Pre-Heat Oven At 350 2 Brown chopped meat (do not drain juices) 3 Add Cilantro, green pepper, red pepper and onion. Saute until translucent 4 Mix in garlic 5 Mix in Sofrito 6 Mix in Alcapparado 7 Mix in salt, oregano, black pepper, cayenne pepper and bay leafs. 8 Stir in, red wine, olive oil, Worcestershire sauce. Stir well. 9 Add sweet peas 10 Add roasted tomatoes and tomato sauce. 11 Stir, cover and simmer over med heat for 20 min. 12 Peel all the sweet plantains 13 Cut into smaller parts, place in pot and cover with water. 14 Over Medium high heat, Bring to a boil and cook for 15 min then immediately drain water. 15 In a non reactive bowl add the plantains and the 4oz butter. Mash with a hand-held mixer on number 4. 16 mix in heavy cream and mash and set aside 17 Setting up baking dish - Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit your dish, make sure you cut an overhang of 2 inches bigger . This will make lifting the pastelon out of the platter easier. 18 Cut a piece of banana leaf for the bottom of the dish 19 Setting up the Pastelón - With a rubber pastry spatula you are going to layer your banana and meat sauce. First layer will be sweet plantain, followed by meat and then again sweet plantain. 20 Sprinkle PR Cheese 21 Sprinkle Cheddar Cheese 22 Sprinkle Mozzarella Cheese 23 Beat Eggs and Layer Over Cheese, top with Salt and Pepper 24 Bake uncovered for 45 minutes. Let cool. 25 To remove the Pastelon simply lift out of pan holding the ends of the parchment paper and place on a dish. If you choose to place on a dish over salad.

About

NOT YOUR MOM’S LASAGNA!
Here is a great recipe for a Puerto Rican Pastelón. My grandmother’s recipe to be exact.  Whenever we visited my abuelita in Philly, she would make this dish and have it waiting for us when we arrived.
My grandmothers recipe is not to be confused with a Piñon as most bloggers out there have made the mistake of calling a piñon a pastelón and vise versa. There is a big difference between a the two, as one recipe calls for mashed plantains and the other calls for deep fried plantains.
When I tell you that this recipe has it all I mean it!  You have the sweetness of the plantain mixed with the tangy, sour and spicy taste of the picadillo meat sauce. The result is a fusion mix of popping flavor.
For the original recipe and visual step by step instructions visit the original recipe on my site: http://theposhlatincook.com/2013/03/02/pastelon-sweet-plantain-puerto-rican-lasagna/