This tasty meal is a summer favorite that is sure to please anyone! You can easily make this vegan like I have, or toss in your favorite meat and cheeses in addition to the plantains.
Pastelon
This tasty meal is a summer favorite that is sure to please almost anyone! You can easily make this vegan like I have, or toss in your favorite meat and cheeses in addition to the plantains.
Ingredients
- 5 Ripe Yellow Plantains (moderate amount of black spots)
- 1 Onion (small)
- 1 Green bell pepper
- 1/3 cup Cilantro (stems + leaves)
- 3 Cloves of garlic
- 1 1/5 lbs Beyond Meat
- 1 1/5 cup Diced tomatoes
- 3 tbsp Tomato paste
- 1/2 cup Frozed green peas
- 1 1/5 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Pepper
- 1 tsp Cumin
- 1 tsp Paprika
- 1 tsp Oregano
- 1 Stick of butter (I recommend Earth Balance)
- 1 cup Shredded cheese (I recommend Chao- but this is optional)
Instructions
- Preheat Oven to 350
- Prepare the plantains by cutting off ends and peeling off skin. Using a sharp serrated knife, cut each plantain lengthwise (longways) in half, and then do the same again lengthwise to those halves, yielding 4 pieces per plantain, and about 20 strips total. *if any strips rip or break, that’s ok! When you layer your Pastelón, just lay the pieces together to form an even layer.
- In a large skillet heat a cup of canola oil. Once hot enough to gently fry over medium-high heat, place plantain strips (about 6 at a time) in the oil, flipping often until they are a dark golden brown. Lay them on a paper towels to drain and cool. Clean out skillet and return to medium heat.
- In a blender/food processor, blend the garlic, onion pepper, and cilantro until it becomes a wet chunky sofrito puree. Now, warm 2 tablespoons of oil in the skillet and add sorfrito, stirring it until it becomes thicker and darker. Add in your beyond meat and the spices. Begin to brown the meat and after about 5-10 minutes, add tomatoes and paste, stirring this mixture all together for another 10 minutes. Turn off heat and add frozen peas (the frost will melt, and peas will cook to perfection during our bake!)
- Lightly grease your baking dish with butter. Prepare your Pastelón by laying down strips of plantains until the bottom of the dish is covered (spaces between strips are ok!). Top the strips with about half of your meat mix, and evenly spread this out, followed by about half of your shredded cheese. Repeat with another layer of plantain, then the last of the meat mix and then the cheese. You can place any remaining plantain strips left over on the top of your Pastelón before covering loosely with foil and placing in the oven.
- Bake for about 20 minutes, remove the foil and cook for an additional 10 minutes before taking dish out to cool.
- ENJOY!!!
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