Hello my Puerto Rican buddies ! The time in my life has finally come where I feel the need to make Pasteles.?

Question

So I really have to call you guys out to help me find not just a good, but a perfect recipe for them. Can anyone help me please ? Ricardo Garcia.

Thanks for your answers so far, but I still can't get a recipe out of you guys for hell or high water, my Mom and Gran have passed away, I was raised not speaking Spanish, so what do I do now? Help me somebody!!!

Answer 1

Pasteles
(pa-ste-les)

(makes 36)

Filling:

A-2 pounds lean pork meat, without bone
6 tablespoons jugo de naranja agria (sour orange juice)

B-Crush and mix in a mortar:
4 sweet chili peppers, seeded
4 fresh culantro leaves
2 large cloves garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons whole dried oregano
1 tablespoon salt

C-Cube finely:
1 pound lean cured ham
1 green pepper, seeded
1 onion peeled

D-1 1/2 cups seeded raisins

E-1 can (1 pound) garbanzos (Chick-peas), liquid included
1 cup water

F-24 olives, stuffed with pimientos, finely chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons capers
6 tablespoons Achiote Coloring (cook anais seed in 1 cup vegetable oil)

1. Wash and dry pork meat rapidly and cut into very small cubes. Mix meat cubes with the sour orange juice.

2. Add ingredients included in B to meat.

3. Add ingredients included in C and the seeded raisins. Mix together well.

4. In a saucepan, bring to boil ingredients included in E. Drain the liquid over the meat mixture. Remove skins from chick-peas and add chick-peas to the meat mixture.

5. Add olives and capers.

6. Add ingredients included in F, mix well, cover, and set in regrigerator until the masa is ready.

Masa (Paste)

A-4 pounds white yautia, peeled
4 pounds yellow yautia, peeled
15 green bananas, peeled and rinsed in salted water
2 cups lukewarm milk

B-1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) Achiote Coloring
2 1/2 tablespoons salt

1. Wash, drain and grate the yautias and bananas. Crush gradually in a mortar yautias and bananas. Mix in a bowl with lukewarm milk to make a smooth paste. (If using an electric blender, crush gradually yautias and bananas with lukewarm milk. Set in a bowl.)

2. Add the Achiote Coloring and salt, mix well, cover, and set aside to make the pasteles.

To Shape and Cook the Pasteles

1. Use 20 bundles of plaintain leaves. They should be long and wide.

2. With a knife, remove the central ridge to give greater flexibility to the leaves. Divide leaves into pieces, about 12 inches square. Wash and cleen leaves with a damp cloth.

3. Place 3 tablespoons of the masa on a leaf and spread it out so thinly, that it is almost transparent.

4. Place 3 tablespoons of the filling in the center of the masa.

5. Fold the leaf one half over the other to make a top and bottom layer of plaintain leaf and enclose the contents in it. Fold it over once more.

6. Fold the right and left ends of the leaf toward the center.

7. Wrap in a second leaf placed on the diagonal.

8. Tie the pasteles together, in pairs, with a string, placing folded edges facing each other.

9. In a large vessel, bring to a boil 5 quarts water with 3 1/2 tablespoons salt. Add 12 pasteles and boil, covered, for 1 hour. Halfway, turn over pasteles. When cooking period is finished, remove pasteles from the water at once. Repeat process with rest of pasteles

Note: Parchment cooking paper may be used in place of plaintain leaves. :-)

Answer 2

I once came to that feeling too,.............then I had a realization, as good a cook as I am, Not Pasteles! Look at Speedy Girls answer and then look at Desi's answer. The two combined are perfect.
It's a huge production, you don't make 6 pasteles, when you do it, YOU DO IT. Now, having NEVER done it, you ask your mom or grandma, and do it with them. You'll learn secrets and ideas on how to handle sticky dough, how not to let the dough get too starchy, and you'll have a family traditional experience you couldn't get from sharing a recipe online.
I'm Italian and my Chicken Parm is Kickass, but I can't write it down and expect someone to follow my direction and have it taste the same as mine does.
Anyway I love Pasteles, my sonis Puerto Rican and although I have learned to make a mean Arroz con Gondules, I'll never be able to make Pasteles like Brenilda up the block who sells them for $5 al junta.
Good Luck.

Answer 3

***Dough:***

6 cups Flour
1 teaspoon Salt
1 tablespoon Sugar
3/4 cup Shortening
1 1/2 cup Water
***Fruit filling:***

20 ounces Mixed dried fruit
1/2 pound Raisins
3/4 cup Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Ground cloves
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg
1 cup Pinon nuts(other nuts okay)
Directions:

Mix flour, salt and sugar; add shortening and mix well. Add beaten egg to water and then to dry mixture. Dough should be soft but not sticky. Make small balls of dough. Roll out to 5 inches diameter and 1/8"" thick. Place a heaping teaspoon of filling on half of rolled out dough turning other half of dough over and pressing edges together. Pinch edges between thumb and fore finger giving the dough a half-turn. Fry in deep fat until golden brown. Drain. To make fruit filling, add enough water to cover the dried fruit and raisins. Cook over low heat until tender. Add sugar, spices, and nuts. Mix until well blended. ( A 21 oz. can of fruit pie filling can be substituted for the fruit filling.)

This recipe for Empanadas De Fruta serves/makes 8.

Answer 4

pasteles are a family tradition. my mom makes them so yummy, yet i am cooking illetrate! ask your grandmom or mo for the recipe. usually they well give it to you right off the bat. some use banana leaves or dough, i hate the banana leaf tast blah. anyways happy pastele !

Answer 5

um irina, thats not a recipe for pasteles.
Anyway, i think you should ask you mom or grandma for their recipe. More fun then the internet.
Make a ton at once and freeze them.

Answer 6

you need the fallowing.
green bananas
banana leaf
wax paper
string
ground beef cook & season
take the green bananas put in food procesor & make a mass,then put some in banana leaf,put ground beef inside & rap in the wax paper,& tide with string,boild in water 20 minutes & enjoy

Answer 7

OK. First for all answerer's:
Pasteles is a Puerto Rican dish famous on the holidays. made it with meat filling inside a mix of green banana and yautia dressed with banana tree leaves and paper. It's great!

Well I give you the recipe on spanish because some ingredients have no translation.

for about 38 pasteles

Relleno:

A-2 libras de carne de cerdo sin grasa y sin hueso
6 cucharadas de jugo de naranja agria fresca

B-4 ajies dulces sin semillas
4 hojas de culantro, lavadas
2 dientes de ajo grandes
2 cucharadas de oregano seco
1 cucharada de sal

C- 1 libra de jamon de cocinar
1 pimiento verde fresco sin semilla
1 cebolla mediana
2 tomates maduros

D- 24 aceitunas rellenas con pimientos morrones
1 1/2 cucharada de alcaparras

E- 1 libra de manteca de cerdo
1/4 libra de achiote

Lave rapidamente la carne, sequela, cortela en cuadritos bien pequenos y coloquela en un tazon grande. Exprima las naranjas frescas hasta obtener 3 onzas, anadale el jugo a la carne.
Muela muy bien en el mortero los ingredientes en B y despues agregue a la mezcla de la carne. Lave el jamon y corte en pedacitos pequenos y anada a la mezcla. Lave la cebolla, los tomates y el pimiento en pedazos muy pequenos y anada tambien a la mezcla. Corte las aceitunas pequenitas y anada a la mezcla junto con las alcaparras.
Lave y escurra muy bien el achiote. Combine la manteca con el achiote bien escurrido y ponga a fuego bajo a derretir, despues cuele. Agregue 6 cucharadas de la manteca derretida a la carne (el achiote es solo para sabor y color, no debe comerse) y guarde el resto para la masa. Mezcle todo bien y tapelo hasta que lo necesite para rellenar los pasteles.
Cocine a fuego bajo aproximadamente 30 minutos.

MASA:

4 libras de yautia blanca
4 libras de yautia amarilla
15 guineos verdes
2 tazas de leche tibia
2 1/2 cucharadas de sal
la manteca de achiote que guardo

Pele, lave, escurra y ralle las yautias y los guineos Despues de rallados, muelalos muy bien en el mortero para suavizar completamente la masa. Anadale poco a poco la leche tibia y la manteca de achiote que reservo al preparar el relleno. Anada la sal. Mezcle todo bien, tapelo y dejelo listo para preparar los pasteles.

Consiga 25 paquetes de hojas de platano, las cuales deben ser grandes, anchas y verdes. con una tijera corte la vena dura del centro de la hoja. Divida las hojas en pedazos de 12" cuadradas
Lave y limpie bien las hojas con un pano humedo. Vierta como a 2" de la base de la hoja 3 cdas de la masa. Extiendala hacia arriba y los lados procurando dejarla bien fina, casi transparente de ese modo le quedara mas sabrosa. Vierta en el centro de la masa extendida 3 cdas del relleno y extiendalo hacia los lados. Doble el pastel en tal forma que la base de la masa al quedar doblado, descanse sobre el borde de la masa de ariba, formando de ese modo la tapa y el fondo del pastel. Dele un segundo doblez.

Doble hacia adentro los lados izquierdo y derecho de las hojas. Envuelvalo en una segunda hoja. Esta vez en forma diagonal. Coloque dos pasteles juntos colocando frente con frente las partes que han sido dobladas. Amarrelos asi de dos en dos.

Ponga a fuego alto un recipiente bien grande con agua que cubra los pasteles (puede usar 5 litros de agua con 3 1/2 cdas de sal para cada 12 pasteles.

Cuando el agua este hirviendo, agregue los pasteles. Dejelos hervir durante 1 hora (a la media hora virelos)
Despues que se hayan cocido, retirelos inmediatamente del agua. Listo Ya puede servirlos , recuerde las hojas no se comen.

Answer 8

my dad used to always make them with guava paste and cream cheese (or any cheese). it is it was really really good!!!!