When friends come to town for the Navy-Air Force game and it coincides with the Annapolis Powerboat Show, you know there is not going to be an available table in Annapolis without a 45 minute wait. So dinner on board it is! But wrapping in a dinghy ride before dinner means the meal needs to be made ahead. And of course I want it to be better than any restaurant in town! Well, Pastelón seemed to do the trick. Also known as Puerto Rican Lasagna, this meal had our guests pausing between bites to rave about the incredible flavors of the “…what is this called again??…” Am I wrong in assuming it’s not just the Dark & Stormies talking?

Checking out the boat show “after hours” in the dinghy before hunkering down to Puerto Rican Pastelón.

Pastelón is a layering of sweet, ripe plantains, picadillo ground beef with onion, garlic , peppers, olives, capers and cilantro, and between the layers is cheese with beaten eggs poured on top to bind it all together. The picadillo is a straight forward meat sauce; easy to throw together. The time consuming part of this dish is slicing and frying the plantains.

Pastelón

5 ripe plantains
3 tablespoons vegetable oil, total
1 ½ pounds ground beef
1 small white onion, finely chopped
½ green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 ancho pepper, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 package Sazon with Achoite
1-2 teaspoons Adobe Seasoning, to taste
2+ tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 cup tomato sauce
6 pimento-stuffed green olives, sliced
2 teaspoons capers
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt and black pepper to taste

For Assembly:
2 cups shredded mozzarella or cheddar cheese
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Finely chop all the vegetables and set aside. (Elton photo bomb)

In a large pan, heat 1 tablespoon of oil. Sauté the peppers, onion and garlic until it they start to soften.

Add the ground beef and continue cooking until the meat has browned. Add the oregano, cumin, Sazon and Adobe. Stir in the tomato sauce, olives and capers. Mix thoroughly, cover, and let it simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the minced cilantro.

Set aside while you prepare the plantains.

With a sharp knife, cut off the ends of the plantains and make a long slice down the skin. Peel the skin away and slice in half lengthwise. Lay the flat side of the plantain on a cutting board and slice lengthwise in half if it’s small or in thirds if it’s large enough. The slices should be about 1/8th” thick. Don’t worry if the slices break apart. You can always arrange them back together in the pan. They will still taste the same.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a large fry pan. Sauté the plantain slices in batches until golden brown. Do not let them fry too fast. The plantains need to cook through so they soften. If they “flash” fry they will be crispy on the outside and not cooked through. Drain on paper towels while you fry up all the plantains. This could take up to 4 batches or more.

Preheat your oven to 350º. Oil a 9×13 pan and lay the slices into the pan. This first layer is the most important, because it is the base of the “lasagna.”

Spoon half of the meat mixture on top. Sprinkle with about 1/3 of the cheese. Then add the next layer of plantains and repeat that layer with sauce and cheese.

Beat the eggs with the baking soda and pour evenly over the dish. Add the final layer of cheese on top.

Cover with foil then pop into your preheated oven for 20 minutes. Rotate the pan midway through if your burner is in the back. After 20 minutes remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes.

Let rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing and serving.

PRINT RECIPE

Puerto Rican Pastelón

Considered "Puerto Rica Lasagna" but with the flavors of the Caribbean.

Author: GalleyPirate

Ingredients

• 5 Ripe plantains
• 3 tbsp Vegetable oil, total
• 1½ lbs Ground beef
• 1 Medium small white onion, finely chopped
• 1 Ancho pepper finely chopped
• ½ Green bell pepper finely chopped
• 3-4 Cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 pkg Sazon with Achoite
• 1-2 tsp Adobe seasoning, to taste
• 2+ tbsp Fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
• 1 cup Tomato sauce
• 6 Pimento-stuffed green olives, sliced
• 2 tsp Capers
• 1 tsp Oregano
• 1 tsp Cumin
• Salt & pepper to taste

For Assembly

• 2 cups Shredded Monterey Jack or Mozzerella
• 3 Eggs beaten
• ½ tsp Baking soda

Instructions

• Finely chop all the vegetables and set aside. In a large pan, heat 1 tablespoon of oil. Sauté the peppers, onion and garlic until it they start to soften.
• Add the ground beef and continue cooking until the meat has browned. Add the oregano, cumin, Sazon and Adobe. Stir in the tomato sauce, olives and capers. Mix thoroughly, cover, and let it simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the minced cilantro. Set aside while you prepare the plantains.
• With a sharp knife, cut off the ends of the plantains and make a long slice down the skin. Peel the skin away and slice in half lengthwise. Lay the flat side of the plantain on a cutting board and slice lengthwise in half if it's small or in thirds if it's thick enough. The slices should be about 1/8th" thick. Don't worry if the slices break apart. You can always arrange them back together in the pan. They will still taste the same.
• Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a large fry pan. Sauté the plantain slices in batches until golden brown. Do not let them fry too fast. The plantains need to cook through so they soften. If they "flash" fry they will be crispy on the outside and not cooked on the inside. Drain on paper towels while you fry up all the plantains. This could take up to 4 batches or more.
• Preheat your oven to 350º. Oil a 9x13 pan and lay the slices into the pan. This first layer is the most important, because it is the base of the "lasagna."
• Spoon half of the meat mixture on top of the plantains. Sprinkle with about 1/3 of the cheese. Then add the next layer of plantains and repeat that layer with sauce and cheese.
• Beat the eggs with the baking soda and pour evenly over the dish. Add the final layer of cheese on top.
• Cover with foil then pop into your preheated oven for 20 minutes. Rotate the pan midway through if your burner is in the back. After 20 minutes remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes.
• Let rest for 10-15 minutes before slicing and serving.

Notes