Pasteles

Hi everyone, this is the recipe for pasteles. I will add the pictures and such later, but I’ve had a lot of people contact me for this one and I want to get it out for everyone before Christmas. This recipe should be made in advance and it is better if you have helpers. Enjoy!

This recipe makes 60 pasteles but can easily be divided into thirds (20 or 40 pasteles).

Ingredients for the Filling

6 1/2 pounds pork shoulder
2 Tablespoons achiote oil
6 cups sofrito (my fresh sofrito recipe)
2 Tablespoons Kosher Salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 Tablespoons capers
45 chopped olives (I used Spanish Olives)
2-3 Tablespoons oregano
2 bay leaves
32 ounces veggie stock
1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons currents (optional)
2 large diced potatoes or 1 can chickpeas (or both)
Extra Salt to taste
15 ounce can tomato sauce

Instructions for the Filling
1. Trim the fat off of the pork. Cut it into cubes that are about 1×1.
2. In a large pot, heat 2 Tablespoons of achiote oil over medium high heat.
3. Add the sofrito to the pot. Then add the meat, 2 Tablespoons of Kosher Salt and the black pepper. Stir. (You can do this in smaller batches if you want to brown the meat, it is up to you).
4. Add the capers, olives, oregano and bay leaves.
5. Add enough veggie stock to cover the meat. I used 32 ounces. Add the currents and stir.
6. Simmer for 2 1/2 hours.
7. Add your potatoes or chickpeas. Just as a side note, if you wanted to use dried chickpeas instead of canned, use 1/3 cup and add them in the beginning (after soaking in salty water overnight).
8. When your potatoes are done, taste your filling and decide if you want more salt or pepper.
9. Once your potatoes are done (about 20 minutes), add the tomato sauce. Set your filling to the side. You will need some of the liquid for your masa. I also let my filling set overnight.

ingredients for the Masa

There are several ingredients that can be used to make masa including calabaza yautia, yucca, Tarro root, green plantains, green bananas or potatoes. Feel free to mix and match these ingredients to come up with your own unique masa. For this recipe you will need 15 pounds total of the ingredients.

4 1/2 pounds Tarro root
3 pounds green plantains
5 pounds kabocha squash or calabaza
2 1/2 pounds of yucca
1 Tablespoon Kosher salt

liquids
32 ounces of the cooking liquid from the filling
14 ounces of coconut milk
1 cup milk
1/4 cup achiote oil

you will need to make adjustments to your liquid measurements according to how ripe your masa ingredients are. The liquid measurements are just a guideline and what I used.

1. shred all of your masa ingredients. If you are using a box grater you will use the small holes. If you are using a food processor, you will first use the large hole shredder blade and after you have everything shredded you will go back and use the blade inside of your food processor while you add the liquid ingredients until you get the correct consistency.
2. if you used a box grater, add a small amount of the liquid of your choice at a time until the desired consistency is reached. If you are using the food processor, after shredding, fit your food processor with the blade and begin processing in small batches slowly adding the liquid of your choice while running the food processor until the desired consistency is reached.
3. Wrap your pasteles in banana leaves following the video instructions. Boil for 1 hour 10 minutes and up to 1 hour and 30 minutes until your massa is at the desired consistency.

the video can be found on my YouTube channel youtube.com/bestbitesforever