This blog is about...

...Puerto Rico's "pasteles"

History

Some historians inform that the origins of Puerto Rican “pasteles” are from the Tainos and others have written that is a combination of the Taino and African cultures. Well, based on my upbringing, I say it is a combination of all three races that forms a Puerto Rican: Taino, Spaniard and African. Why? The ingredients.

Annatto (“achiote”) and casava (“yuca”) used by The Tainos.
“sofrito” is Spanish heritage.
the green bananas (“guineo verde”) and taniers (“yautía”) are from Africa.

I consider “pasteles” a gourmet dish because all the steps are manual and fresh.

Choosing the stuffing:

The Puerto Rican "Pastel" is an adaptable dish because you can choose your own stuffing. Some prepare “pasteles” with chicken or only vegetables due to religious belief and medical conditions.

I personally prefer my “pasteles” with pork stew.

Choosing the pork

The hind leg (“pernil trasero”) of the pork provides more quantity and better flavor.
The picnic shoulder of the pork (“pernil delantero”) is also used when the budget is limited.

Puerto Rican pork farms follow strict guidelines set by the local and federal governments.

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Highly recommend seasoning the stew and dough with Puerto Rican sauce known as “sofrito”.

Preparing the dough:

The dough includes green bananas and taniers. There are two (2) types of taniers: lilac and white. It recommended the white tanier (“yautia blanca”) when preparing “pasteles”. Some recipe adds pumpkin to soften the dough. Some dough are only casava ("yuca")

My favorite dough have green banana (“guineo verde”) and white taniers (“yautía blanca”).

You will need plastic gloves when working with green banana. If your choice is casava ("yuca), you must squeeze the milk out from the yuca. You will get sick if you consume starchy milk.

The grater is the kitchen tool to prepare the "pasteles" dough.

Add color to the dough with annatto (“achiote”) and flavor with Puerto Rican sauce (“sofrito”)

Mounting the “pastel”

Green banana leaves are soften with heat. Skillfull cooks use the flames from a gas stove.

A smart and easy decision is to visit stores or markets that specializes in hispanic foods that sells the leaves ready to use.

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Another option is to use paper parchment (made for pasteles) when green banana leaves are not available or combine by placing a piece of leaf in the center of the paper.

Carefully clean the leaf with a wet paper towel.

Spread a small amount of annatto (“achiote”) oil on the green banana leaf, so the dough does not stick to the leaf.

Read the definition of annatto

If possible, prepare you own annatto oil.

The amount of dough is according to the leaf's size.

Pork stew is the traditional stuffing.

Add a slice of Spanish style red pepper and one stuff olive with no seed.

The final stages

Fold the leaf in a rectangular shape.

Kitchen Twine is use to tide the “pasteles”.

Read definition of twine
Kitchen twine, also known as butcher's twine, is a thick cottonstring often used for tying meat and other ingredients together.