The ingredients in this popular Puerto Rican cuisine are an intriguing mixture, but somehow they all come together. One mouthful has a small amount of each flavor: salty, sweet, and savory.
| Prep Time: | 25 mins |
| Cook Time: | 56 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 21 mins |
| Servings: | 8 |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- ⅓ cup sofrito
- 8 green olives, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon crushed garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt, divided
- ¼ cup recao
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- cooking spray
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- 6 large ripe plantains – peeled, halved, and each half cut lengthwise into 4 slices
- 5 large eggs
- 1 (9 ounce) package frozen French cut green beans, thawed and drained
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add ground beef; cook and stir until browned on the outside and no longer pink in the center, about 10 minutes. Remove meat from pan; drain fat.
- Place tomato sauce, sofrito, green olives, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, recao, and oregano in the skillet. Cook and stir over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Return ground beef to skillet; reduce to a simmer. Cook, uncovered and stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes more.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray an 8- or 9-inch square baking pan with cooking spray.
- Pour oil into a large skillet over medium-high heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Fry plantain slices until golden, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels.
- Beat eggs thoroughly in a bowl; add 1/2 teaspoon salt.
- Line the bottom of the baking pan with half the plantains, overlapping as needed. Layer ground beef mixture, green beans, and remaining plantains; pour eggs on top. Top with mozzarella cheese.
- Bake in the preheated oven until eggs are set and cheese is melted, 20 to 25 minutes.
- If you cannot find the tropical herb called recao (also known as culantro), you can use cilantro instead.
- Sofrito can be found in jars, as well as in the refrigerator or freezer section of your grocery store.
- We have determined the nutritional value of oil for frying based on a retention value of 10% after cooking. Amount will vary depending on cooking time and temperature, ingredient density, and specific type of oil used.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 463 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 70 g |
| Cholesterol | 149 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 6 g |
| Protein | 18 g |
| Saturated Fat | 5 g |
| Sodium | 678 mg |
| Sugars | 33 g |
| Fat | 15 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Good minus green beans. I added cumin to meat. Made homemade sofrito, added green peppers to meat, crushed tomatoes & tomatoe paste, and boil plantains instead. Mashed 6 plantains with butter & adobo seasoning. Only 2 eggs with parsley flakes mix. Delicious n yummy. No raisins added like it’s done traditionally.
Delicious!
This Puerto Rican plate name is Piñon. When you mashed the plantains you called it pastelon. The real recipe of the Piñon doesn’t have cheese, but if you like it go ahead still delicious.
First time making Pastelon, it turned out great. Thanks for the easy to follow recipe!
It was well received by all who tried it – Puerto Rican or otherwise. I will definitely make it again.
I made this without string beans for my Puerto Rican boyfriend. I ended up with 3 layers instead of two, and used 4 large sweet plantains. It came out really well, the only suggestion I have is that it needs closer to 35 minutes in the oven in order for the egg to set.