Pastelón (Plantain Lasagna)

Pastelón de Plátano Maduro (Sweet Plantain Lasagna) combines the delicate sweetness of sweet plantains, flavorful beef filling and a medley of melted cheese. Once you have a taste of this, you’ll never forget it, its definitely a crowd pleaser!

Pastelón de Plátano Maduro (Sweet Plantain Lasagna)

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Ingredients

for the beef filling :

• olive oil

• Sofrito

• 3-4 cloves garlic (mashed in a pestle and mortar)

• 2 lbs of ground beef 80/20

• 1 1/2 packets of Sazon seasoning (achiote)

• Adobo Seasoning

• dried dominican oregano (or regular dried oregano)

• cumin

• smoked paprika

• 2-3 sprigs of thyme chopped

• 1 can tomato sauce or diced tomatoes

• onion, half, sliced

• bell pepper, half, diced

• chopped cilantro (or parsley)

• water

For the Pastelon:

• Very ripe Sweet Plantains (almost black)- I usually use around 8 of them

• S&P

• Canola oil for frying

• Grated Cheese-I used a combo of mozzarella, Gouda and Provolone.

• 2 eggs, whisked and seasoned with a little bit of adobo

Instructions:

For the Carne Molida:

1. Season the ground beef with S&P

2. Heat olive oil in a sauce pan on medium heat, add the garlic and the sofrito and sauté for about a min or until its fragrant, don’t let it burn.

3. Add the ground beef and cook until its brown on all sides making sure to break up all of the chunks. Add the sliced onions and diced peppers to the pan as well. Add all the spices including the tomato sauce, and 1/4 cup of water. continue breaking up the big chunks of meat. put the heat on low and let it simmer for about 15 min or until most the liquid has evaporated. set aside.*

4. Peel the Plantains then slice each lengthwise. you’re not going to get perfect pieces and thats ok, I think from each plantain, I got 3 good long pieces lol.

5. Heat a frying pan on medium and add about 1 inch of Canola oil, when the oil gets hot, fry each plantain until golden brown. drain them on top paper towels.

6. After you have fried all the plantains, grease a baking dish and preheat the oven to 375.

7. For this particular Pastelon, here’s how I layered it.
   1.platains
   2.ground Beef
   3.cheese
   4.plantains
   5.ground beef
   6.cheese
   7.plantains
   8.cheese + egg wash

8. On the last layer of cheese, season with salt and pepper and pour the whisked eggs on top . bake for 15 min or until the cheese is bubbly and melted. let it rest for 10 minutes before serving.

9. ENJOY!

   
   Notes:
   *If your ground beef mixture is too watery after you have finished cooking it, strain it through a colander.