Puerto Rican Plantain Lasagna Recipes

PUERTO RICAN LASAGNA

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Line plate with kitchen towel. Spray bottom and sides of 8-inch square (2-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray.
• In large bowl, mix beef, bell pepper, onion, garlic, cilantro, oregano, Adobo seasoning and vinegar until well combined.
• In 12-inch skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Add beef mixture; cook until browned. Stir in raisins and tomato sauce. Reduce heat to low; simmer 5 minutes.
• In 10-inch skillet, heat 1/4 cup oil over medium-high heat. When hot, add several plantain slices; cook until golden brown on each side. Transfer plantains to towel-lined plate to soak up excess oil. Do this until all slices are browned. Cool slightly. Press plantains down slightly to flatten slices.
• To assemble lasagna, arrange layer of plantains in baking dish. Top with half of the beef mixture. Top with half of the cheese. Continue layering, starting with plantains and ending with cheese. Pour beaten eggs evenly over top.
• Bake about 30 minutes or until cheese is bubbly. Cool about 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

PUERTO RICAN PLANTAIN LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°F.
• Coat a large baking pan with cooking spray.
• Arrange cut plantains into a single layer. Lightly salt and coat with cooking spray. The salt will bring out the sweet flavor of the plantains.
• Bake for 7 minutes on each side, or until plantains are golden brown and very tender.
• Once done, set aside to be used later to layer the lasagna.
• Lower the oven temperature to 350°F.
• Heat oil in a large saucepot over a medium high flame. Add onions; sauté until onions are tender. Add pepper and stir for another few minutes until peppers soften.
• Add the Soy Chorizo and 1-cup tomato sauce to the mixture and stir well. Reduce heat to a medium flame and simmer covered for another 5-7 minutes.
• To assemble Pastelon: In a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan, spread remaining ¼ cup tomato sauce. Then layer with plantains. Spread chorizo mixture on top of plantains. Layer with a handful of cheese. Repeat layers until the last layer is cheese. You will most likely get three layers.
• In a separate bowl, thoroughly beat eggs with milk. Pour evenly over the Pastelón. Let sit for a minute allowing the egg mixture to soak inches Top off with just a bit more cheese.
• Cover and bake for 20 minutes. Remove cover and let bake another 7 minutes.

SWEET PLANTAIN LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Heat just enough cooking oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat so that it will cover the plantains. Once water sizzles when sprinkled over the oil, add the plantains so that they are not touching. You will need to work in batches. Cook until they turn brighter yellow and are lightly browned. Remove to a paper towel lined plate. Set aside.
• Drain all but 1 tablespoon of the oil out of the pan and return to the stovetop. Add the diced onion and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Add the ground beef, adobo, cumin, and oregano. Cook until the beef is no longer pink. Stir in the sauce, cilantro and golden raisins. Taste and adjust seasoning, as needed.
• Place a layer of plantains in the bottom of a large baking dish. The one that I use is 12.5 x 8.5-inches. There may be some space between them and that's okay but you can also mash them some, if you'd like.
• Top the plantains with half of the beef mixture.
• Top the beef with 1 1/2 cups of the cheese.
• Add another layer of plantains, the remaining beef and another 1 1/2 cups of cheese. Top with a final layer of plantains and 1 cup of cheese.
• Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes, or until heated throughout.
• Top with minced fresh basil and serve hot.

PASTELóN (SWEET PLANTAIN "LASAGNA")

Steps:

• Heat a large deep skillet add oil of choice, enough to generously cover the bottom of your pan. Fry the plantains till they are a golden and just a little crispy on both sides. Remove from pan and set aside on paper towel. Repeat until all are fried and slightly crispy.
• Add annatto oil to the same skillet add the ground meat of choice, garlic, onions, peppers, cilantro and or parsley, cooking over medium heat till meat is browned.
• Add adobo, oregano, cumin, vinegar, bay leaf, olives, raisins, and tomato sauce. Season with black pepper to taste and salt to taste. Simmer 20 minutes. Remove and discard bay leaf.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Butter or oil using the coconut oil from the fried plantains a 9x12 casserole pan.
• Place half the plantain in a single layer and press down on them to fill all gaps.
• Top with half the meat mixture.
• Sprinkle half the cheese over the meat mixture.
• Press the remaining plantains to flatten.
• Place the flattened plantains on the cheese, top with remained meat mixture then cheese.
• Mix the eggs with the milk. Pour the egg evenly over the the dish, let it sit for a few minutes allow the egg to soak inches.
• If you like cheese like i do go ahead and sprinkle additional cheese on top.
• Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
• Let rest 15-20 minutes before slicing.

PASTELóN

Steps:

• Prepare the plantains: Line a sheet pan with paper towels; set aside. Cut off the ends of each plantain. With the tip of a knife, score plantains lengthwise and peel off the skin. Using a serrated knife or chef's knife, cut each plantain in half lengthwise, and then halve again lengthwise so you end up with 24 long slices. (If some of the slices break or are unevenly shaped, that's OK! Carry on.)
• In a large cast-iron or heavy skillet, heat 1 cup oil over medium-high to between 350 and 375 degrees. Working with 4 to 6 slices at a time, depending on what fits, fry plantains until deep golden brown, turning halfway through, about 6 minutes total. Transfer fried plantains to the prepared sheet pan and cook remaining plantains; set aside. (Let oil cool, then strain and reserve for another use.)
• Prepare the sofrito: Put onion, bell pepper, ají dulce chiles (if using), garlic, cilantro and culantro (if using), in a food processor; blend until it becomes a rough, wet purée. (You should have about 1 cup sofrito).
• Prepare the picadillo: In a large, heavy skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium until it shimmers. Add the sofrito and cook, stirring often, until purée thickens and starts to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the beef and stir in the salt, pepper, cumin, paprika and oregano. Cook, stirring occasionally, until beef is evenly cooked and no longer pink, about 8 minutes. Turn off heat. Push meat mixture to one side, and carefully tilt skillet so that the fat from the meat collects at the bottom of the tilted pan; spoon off and discard as much of this excess fat as you can.
• Return the skillet to medium heat. Add the chopped tomatoes, wine and tomato paste and cook, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes fall apart and the liquid starts to reduce, about 10 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in olives and raisins, if using. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Picadillo can be made up to 2 days in advance. Rewarm it in a pan on the stove before proceeding with recipe.)
• Prepare the pastelón: Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish with butter. Whisk the eggs with a pinch of salt and set aside.
• Lay half the fried plantain slices along the bottom of the baking dish crosswise, piecing any broken pieces together to form an even layer. (If there are small gaps in the plantain layer, this is OK.) Top with half the picadillo (about 2 cups), smoothing it into an even layer, then sprinkle half the cheese on top in an even layer. Repeat with another layer of plantains then the remaining picadillo. Pour the whisked eggs evenly over the picadillo layer and spread it so it settles down into the pastelón. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
• Bake the pastelón until the egg is cooked, the cheese is melted and the layers are set, 20 to 30 minutes. Cut into squares and serve hot.