Puerto Rican Pasteles Recipe

Grating the green bananas, plantains, yautía, and calabaza raw (instead of boiling them first) keeps the starch intact, so the masa holds together and turns a deep, even orange from the achiote oil instead of going gray or gummy once boiled.

Prep

120 min

Cook

60 min

Total

180 min

Servings

12

Ingredients

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Instructions

1. 1A day ahead, cook the filling: heat 2 tablespoons of the achiote oil in a skillet, add the diced pork, sofrito, tomato sauce, one sazón packet, and 1 teaspoon adobo, and cook over medium heat for 15-20 minutes until the pork is tender and the liquid has mostly reduced. Stir in the olives and capers, then cool and refrigerate.
2. 2Peel the green bananas, plantains, yautía, and calabaza (wear gloves or rub your hands with oil first, the sap stains badly), then grate them finely on the small holes of a box grater or in a food processor.
3. 3Combine the grated mixture in a large bowl with the milk, remaining achiote oil, remaining sazón packet, and 1 tablespoon adobo. Stir until the masa is smooth, evenly orange, and the consistency of thick, wet oatmeal. Taste a tiny bit and adjust salt.
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4. 4Soften the banana leaf pieces by passing each one briefly over an open stovetop flame or a hot dry skillet for a few seconds per side until pliable and glossy.
5. 5Lay a softened banana leaf shiny-side up. Spread about 3/4 cup of masa in a 6-inch square in the center, leaving a border on all sides.
6. 6Spoon about 3 tablespoons of the cold pork filling down the center of the masa.
7. 7Fold the leaf over so the masa encases the filling, forming a rectangular packet about 5x3 inches, then fold in the ends.
8. 8Wrap the packet snugly in a second piece of banana leaf or parchment, then tie tightly with kitchen twine in a crisscross pattern, going around the packet twice each direction.
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9. 9Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Lower the pasteles in, adding enough water to fully submerge them, and weigh them down with a heatproof plate if they float.
10. 10Boil for 45-60 minutes, keeping the water at a steady boil the whole time.
11. 11Remove the pasteles with tongs and let them rest for at least 10 minutes before untying and unwrapping, this lets the masa fully set.
    Why this works

Tips & variations

• If banana leaves aren't available, wrap the masa and filling in parchment paper, then a layer of aluminum foil, and tie the same way; the flavor will be milder but the texture holds up fine.
• Swap the pork for shredded chicken thigh cooked the same way for a lighter filling, or leave out the meat and add chickpeas and extra olives for a vegetarian version.
• A tablespoon of raisins stirred into the filling is a common variation in some households for a sweet-savory contrast against the salty olives and capers.
• Pasteles freeze extremely well uncooked; boil straight from frozen, adding about 15-20 minutes to the cook time.

Storage & reheating

Refrigerate cooked, unwrapped pasteles for up to 5 days, or leave them tied in their leaves for easier storage. Freeze uncooked, tied pasteles for up to 3 months. To reheat, drop cooked pasteles (still wrapped or rewrapped) into boiling water for 15-20 minutes, or steam for about 20 minutes; microwaving tends to dry out the masa.

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