What is Pastelón and why is it so amazing and delicious?
This casserole is combined with the sweetness of ripe plantains filled with beef, spices and melted cheese.
If you are looking for a treat, you are going to love this recipe!
One of my favorite recipes for the holidays!
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 pound of ground beef
- 4 ripe plantains
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten (add some adobo for seasoning or add salt & pepper to your taste)
- 3 cups of mozzarella cheese (or a cheese of your choice)
- Cooking spray or oil
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 cup of chopped peppers (I like to use yellow, orange and red peppers) to enhance the dish with additional flavor!
- ½ cup of tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 tablespoon of garlic paste or minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons of sofrito (omit if you don’t have sofrito since you are adding fresh onions and garlic, you can add some chopped cilantro for flavor)
- 1 teaspoon of adobo
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon of sea salt
- 1 teaspoon of black pepper
INSTRUCTIONS:
- In a large pan, heat olive oil and then add onions, peppers, garlic paste and sofrito. Sauté for about 5 minutes on medium-low heat.
- Next, add ground beef, oregano, adobo, sea salt and black pepper; use a spoon or spatula to break the meat into smaller pieces. Cook for about 10 minutes or until the meat is fully cooked.
- Once the meat is cooked, set it aside.
- Cut the ends off the plantains, slit a line down the plantain and peel the skin. Cut the plantain in half, then slice each half into 4 thin slices (watch the video below for instructions on how to peel and slice plantain).
- Next, cook the plantains. Using a large skillet, spray with cooking oil. Once the skillet is heated, start adding the plantains (you can fry the plantains with oil if you like). I prefer to use cooking spray. Cook until both sides of the plantains are golden brown (about 5 minutes). Set plantains aside to cool off before assembling into the cast iron skillet or baking dish.
- Now it’s time to assemble the Pastelón! Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Arrange a single layer of plantains in the bottom of your cast iron skillet or baking dish.
- Next, layer beef filling on top of the plantain, then sprinkle cheese over the beef filling. Repeat with plantains, beef filling and cheese. Cover the top with remaining plantains.
- Now take the three eggs, crack into a bowl and beat gently. Add your favorite seasoning.
- Pour the eggs over the plantains and bake the Pastelón until the eggs are cooked for about 25 minutes.
- Remove the dish from the oven and sprinkle with remaining cheese and place back in the oven until the cheese is golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool off (about 20 minutes) before serving.
- Top with cilantro and serve.
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See the video below for the full tutorial!
Que Rico!
Margarita