Pastelón de Plátano Maduro (Sweet 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)
Ingredients
for the beef filling
olive oil
Sofrito
3 cloves garlic (mashed in a pestle and mortar)
2 lbs of ground beef 85/15
1 1/2 packets of Sazon seasoning ( achiote)
Adobo Seasoning
dried dominican oregano( or regular dried oregano)
cumin
2-3 sprigs of thyme chopped
tomato sauce
tomato paste
sweet onion sliced
red bell pepper sliced
chopped cilantro (or parsley)
water
For the Pastelon:
Very Ripe Sweet Plantains(almost black)- I usually use around 8 of them
S&P
Canola
Grated Cheese-I used a combo of mozzarella, Gouda and Provolone.
Instructions
For the Carne Molida:
Season the ground beef with S&P. nothing else for now.
Heat olive oil in a sauce pan on medium heat, add the sofrito and sautee for about a min or until its fragrant, don’t let it burn.
Add the ground beef and cook until its brown on all sides making sure to break up all of the chunks.
Season the ground beef (in the pan)with all the spices including the tomato sauce,tomato paste 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.*
once its done, saute the Onions and peppers until the onions are translucent. set aside.
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.
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.
after you have fried all the plantains, grease a baking dish and preheat the oven to 375.
For this particular pastelon, here’s how I layered it.
1.platains
2.gouda slices
3.ground Beef
4.onions and pepper
5.plantains
6.gouda slices
7.ground beef
8.onions and Peppers
9.provolone cheese
10.plantains
11.ground Beef
12.onions and Peppers
13.mozarella cheese
14.Plantains
15.mozarella and gouda cheeseOn the last layer of cheese, season with salt and pepper. bake for 20 min or until the cheese is bubbly and melted. let it rest for 10 minutes before serving.
ENJOY!
Notes:
*If your ground beef mixture is too watery after you have finished cooking it, strain it through a colander.
