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Puerto Rican Pastelon Lasagna

Prep 30 min
Total 1 hr 15 min
Ingredients 12
Servings 6

Pastelon is the quintessential homemade dish, and it mixes the sweetness of fried ripe maduro with the cooked meat and sofrito, which is traditional in Puerto Rican kitchens. It’s worth mentioning that there are several recipes, as is common with cherished dishes from our countries. We all swear that our grandmas or moms make the best variations of these recipes, so it’s really the memories evoked by a dish’s unique flavor that make it delightful. I recommend you prepare this exceptional dish. It’s such a treat! MORE + LESS -

Ingredients

ripe maduro

1/3

cup vegetable oil + 2 teaspoons

lbs ground meat

teaspoon dry oregano

1/2

teaspoon cumin powder (or to taste)

Salt and pepper

tablespoons sofrito

tablespoons tomato paste

seasoning package

1/3

cup green olives stuffed with pepper

cup quesillo or grated mozzarella cheese (optional)

slightly beaten eggs

Directions

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1

Peel the bananas and slice them length-wise.
2

Heat up 1/3 cup oil in a pan and fry the bananas until they’re golden brown. Drain them on a paper towel and set aside.
3

In another pan, heat a tablespoon of oil and fry the meat until it changes color. Season with the oregano, cumin, salt and pepper to taste.
4

In another pan, use the extra tablespoon oil to fry the sofrito with the tomato paste, the seasoning, and olives. Add the cooked meat and finish cooking. Fix the seasoning if you think it’s necessary. Set aside.
5

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
6

Cover a rectangular mold with butter. Beat the eggs with salt and pepper and pour half at the bottom of the mold. Then, place a layer of fried ripe maduro.
7

Sprinkle the grated cheese on top.
8

Then, add all of the meat.
9

Cover with another layer of fried ripe maduro.
10

Finish with the rest of the beaten egg.
11

Bake for 25 minutes. Take it out of the oven and set aside for 15 minutes before cutting.

Expert Tips

You can cover the surface of the pastelon with grated cheese and bake until the cheese is bubbling and golden brown.
Instead of using two layers of maduro, you can use three layers and add grated cheese over each layer of maduro.