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Yuca and Plantain Pasteles

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PREP TIME
55 min
COOKING TIME
83 min
TOTAL TIME
138 min
SERVINGS
24 servings
Dinner Puerto Rican
Yuca and Plantain Pasteles
Ingredients
  • 2 pounds yuca, peeled and coarsely chopped
  • 2 pounds green plantains, peeled and coarsely chopped
  • 2 pounds yautia, peeled and coarsely chopped
  • 2 cups milk
  • 1 pound lard
  • 1 pound achiote seeds
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil, or to taste
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 green bell pepper, chopped
  • 2 pounds pork shoulder roast, cut into small cubes
  • 1 pound ham, cut into small cubes
  • 2 cups garbanzo beans
  • 2 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
  • 1 (5 ounce) jar pitted Spanish olives
  • 1 (4 ounce) jar capers
  • 3 tablespoons orange juice
  • 4 sprigs cilantro, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 24 plantain leaves
  • kitchen string
Instructions
1
Mash yuca, green plantains, yautia, and milk together in a blender until you get a thick paste with the consistency of oatmeal.
2
Combine lard and achiote seeds in a saucepan over medium-low heat; warm until the lard is melted and has turned reddish in color, approximately 5 minutes. Strain out the achiote seeds. Mix half of the lard into the yuca paste mixture.
3
Heat olive oil in a large cooking pot over medium heat. Add an onion and green bell pepper; cook and stir until they are tender, around 5 minutes. Add pork, ham, garbanzo beans, tomato sauce, olives, capers, orange juice, cilantro, oregano, salt, and garlic; cook and stir until the pork is cooked through in the center, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat.
4
Mix two-thirds of the remaining lard into the pork mixture.
5
Spread a small amount of remaining lard onto each plantain leaf. Place a large spoonful of the yuca paste mixture in the center of each one; top with a scoop of the pork mixture. Fold up the sides of each leaf to enclose the filling and create a rectangular pastry.
6
Stack two pasteles together and tie them with kitchen string. Repeat the process with the remaining pasteles.
7
Put a large pot of water on the boil and add the pasteles. Cook until the filling is tender, approximately 1 hour. Unwrap the pasteles before serving.