While most of the world enjoys the classic version of lasagna, my family and I feast on Pastelon – the Puerto Rican Sweet Plantain Lasagna. Thinly sliced plantains strips deliciously nestled between layers of sofrito seasoned beef and cheese, this recipe is a BANGER!
Sweet Plantains Strips
Arguably the most important part of making Pastelon is choosing ripe sweet plantains. It’s important that the plantains be sufficiently ripe otherwise the Pastelon will turn out dry and almost bland. The extreme sweetness of the plantains contrasting the savory meat is what makes this recipe so addicting.
Ripe plantains often look spoiled because of the black spots on their yellow skin. Don’t worry though, they taste amazing and they’re differently not spoiled.
For this recipes, grab about 4 medium/large sized plantains. Similar to their unripe brother, the green plantain, peel the sweet plantains and slice them horizontally in thin strips (think pasta sheets). They should be easier to peel since by nature they are softer in texture. Next, shallow fry them until golden caramel or for a healthy alternative bake them in an air-fryer!
Picadillo – Ground Beef
Now that we’ve covered our sweet element, let’s talk about the savory picadillo (ground beef) in the Pastelon. You want to use a lean ground beef, preferably an 80/20 or 90/10 mix. Even with a lean mix, it’s important to remember to drain the meat. Since the sweet plantains are fried, you want to limit any excess grease.
To season the picadillo (ground beef), we of course, gotta use sofrito. Check out my recipe for Puerto Rican Sofrito here: http://nataknowsbest.com/puerto-rican-sofrito/
Other necessary flavors to build off the sofrito are: tomato sauce, ground cumin, sazon, dried oregano, adobo all purpose seasoning, black pepper and spanish olives (which are tradtional in the recipe but optional in my version).
Assembly
Creating the Pastelon is super simple and straight-forward. Just like any other lasagna, start with a layer of your strips (in this case, sweet plantain NOT pasta). Make sure to cover the base evenly, leaving no gaps. Then, top the plantain strips with a few scoops of the meat mixture. Smooth it out and sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese.
To hold the Pastelon together, whisk 2 eggs with some whole milk and pour half over the bottom half of the Pastelon. Repeat the layers of plantain, meat and cheese and then pour the remaining egg mixture on top. The egg mixture serves the role of a glue. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the Pastelon and bake that baby!
Serve with white rice, salad or some delicious arroz con gandules and ENJOY!
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Pastelon – Puerto Rican Sweet Plantain Lasagna
Ingredients
- 4 ripe sweet plantains
- 1 pound of ground beef (oil drained)
- 2 cups of mozzarella cheese
- 1/3 cup of homemade sofrito
- 1 packet of sazon with achiote
- 1 tablespoon of adobo all purpose seasoning
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon of ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon of black pepper
- 5 stuffed-spanish olives (optional)
- 1 cup of tomato sauce
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon of whole milk
Instructions
Cook the Sweet Plantains
- Prepare your sweet plantains by scoring the skins, peeling them off and cutting the plantain in half.
- Then cut thin slices from each halve. These slices will be your “lasagna sheets”.
- Based on preference, shallow fry the plantains until golden caramel color (7 minutes each side) or you may bake them.
- Rest the plantains on a paper-towel lined plate to absorb the excess oil.
Prepare the Picadillo
- Add sofrito to a medium-high heat pan with some olive oil.
- Cook sofrito until aromatic and then add ground beef.
- Add seasoning, stuffed olives (optional) and tomato sauce.
- Reduce heat and simmer until all extra liquid evaporates.
- Drain any excess oil.
Assembly the Pastelon
- When all components are complete, begin to layer them into a lightly greased pan.
- Begin with the plantain layer. Lay plantain slices side-by-side until bottom of dish is mostly covered.
- Add and smooth picadillo over plantain layer.
- Sprinkle half of cheese amount over ground beef and beat eggs with milk. Pour half the egg mixture over the pastelon.
- Repeat the layers and pour the remaining egg mixture on top.
- Bake for 25 minutes and enjoy!
