Kim's Puerto Rican Pastele Recipe

                                             

Meet your Instructor

Chef Kim Tapia is the owner of Kim’s Puerto Rican Delights Facebook Group, professional caterer and cooking instructor. She’s been making Puerto Rican cuisine since she was a little girl. Kim was raised in Brooklyn, NY and currently resides in Staten Island, NY. When she’s not making her famous pasteles, Kim is a real estate professional and entrepreneur. If you want to get to know Kim more intimately please join her group and follow her Instagram page @kim.d_agent.remaxedge

History of the Pastele

In Puerto Rico, the holiday season starts after Thanksgiving and goes through Christmas and Three Kings Day to the Octavas and Octavitas, a religious observance that extends the celebration through mid-January. It seems like pasteles are always a part of each celebration. The Fiestas de la Calle de San Sebastián caps it all off over the course of three days in Old San Juan. Friends will show up at loved ones’ houses singing and playing music, like Christmas caroling but with maracas, güiros and cuatros.

 

It’s common during these celebrations to make large batches of pasteles. Similar to tamales, pasteles are a combination of grated green unripe bananas called guineos, plantains and either yautia or yuca, blended to make a masa seasoned with achiote oil. The filling — pork, ham or chicken simmered in a sofrito of peppers and onions, then mixed with garbanzos, olives, capers and raisins — is tucked into the prepared dough and wrapped in plantain leaves. Once the pasteles are filled and wrapped, they can be frozen, then steamed or boiled just before serving so they're ready to welcome anyone who may turn up at your door.

 

Ingredients:

Annatto Seed Oil

·       ½ gallon of, 2 big spoonful

Masa Mix

·       25-30 Bananas

·       1.5 pounds of pumpkin

·       1 large potato

·       1.5 pounds of yautia (also known as malanga)

·       3-4 packets on Sazon

·       Meat Broth and Adobo

Fillings  

·       8 lbs. Pork

·       2 lbs. of potato

·       1 bunch of cilantro

·       ½ bunch of racao

·       2 cans of tomato sauce

·       1 large onion

·       1 medium bottle of olives

·       Adobo seasoning

·       Black pepper

·       1 large spoon of sofrito

 

Directions:

Achiote:

Use 2 large spoons of Annatto seed oil with ½ gallon of oil

Put to cook on medium heat.

Once it starts to boil lower flame to low heat for 5 minutes

 

 

MASA

·       Grate all the vegetables including: Bananas, pumpkin, potato and yautia

·       Note: During the class I will guide you to season.

FILLING

·       Meat- Ask your butcher to cut.

·       Clean all the pork and take bone out

·       Skin- Clean the fat off and take ½ and cut in 4’s.

·       Season your meat using: Adobo, oregano, Sazon, black pepper, pour whole bottle of olives with liquid.

Put to boil

·       Once it’s boiled for an hour, cut 1 ½ - 2 lbs. of potato to your liking.

·       Add both cans of tomato sauce.

·       Add cilantro, cut ½

·       Add racao

·       Let the meat boil for 2 -3 hours.

Garnish

·       1 – 2, 11.5 oz. cans of roasted peppers

·       1 bunch of cilantro

·       1 small bottle of olives, (no pits of salad)

Note: I recommend for all the vegetables to be grated and the meat done. Have 2 cups of meat broth on the side cool. I will help you through Zoom to mix it all. Please have things prepped if you plan to follow along. It’s better like this because I can help you make adjustments in necessary.

Recipe makes 2 to 2 ½ Dozen