Pastelón (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

for "big cake") is a dish from the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

and

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. It is prepared differently in each

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

nation.

Ingredients and preparation

The pastelón is a casserole dish consisting of typical Latin Caribbean foods such as plantains,

sofrito (), (), (), (), () or () is a basic preparation in Mediterranean cuisine, Mediterranean, Latin American cuisine, Latin American, Spanish cuisine, Spanish, Italian cuisine, Italian and Portuguese cuisine, Portuguese cooking. It typically ...

, and seasoned, mince meat (beef).

Dominican Republic

In the Dominican Republic this dish is made with boiled mashed ripe plantains. The dish is often called Dominican casserole or ripe plantain casserole using typically Dominican style picadillo and cheddar cheese. A layer of mashed plantain is placed at the bottom of a baking pan and covered with picadillo and cheddar. Another layer of mashed plantain is placed on top with picadillo and cheddar. The dish is then covered with aluminum and baked for an additional 35-45 minutes.

Puerto Rico

In Puerto Rico pastelón is considered a Puerto Rican variation of lasagne and inspired by such. Sweet plantains (plátanos maduros) replace the lasagne pasta noodles. The plantains are peeled and then cut lengthwise in to strips, which are then fried. Traditional pastelón is with stewed ground meat (traditionally '' picadillo'') because the sauce of stew is then used between layers. In modern variations, the minced meat is sautéed with most notably bell peppers, tomatoes, onions, herbs, olives, capers, raisins, garlic, and wine. Plantains are then placed at the bottom of a baking pan layered with meat filling (mozzarella, ricotta, bechamel, or marinara are incorporated in modern variations because if the meat is sauteed instead of stewed it is drier). This is then repeated about two more times making layers just like a lasagne, but on the traditional pastelón some people would pour a beaten egg on the top layer before adding

parmesan Parmesan (, ) is an Italian cuisine, Italian Types of cheese#Hard cheese, hard, Types of cheese#Granular, granular cheese produced from Dairy cattle, cow's milk and aged at least 12 months. It is a Grana (cheese), grana-type cheese, along wit ...

and the shredded mozzarella or cheddar or both. It is then baked. Plantains can be replaced with boiled and mashed potato, batata,

breadfruit Breadfruit (''Artocarpus altilis'') is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry and jackfruit family ( Moraceae) believed to have been selectively bred in Polynesia from the breadnut ('' Artocarpus camansi''). Breadfruit was spread into ...

cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava, manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America, from Brazil, Paraguay and parts of the Andes. Although ...

celeriac Celeriac (''Apium graveolens'' Rapaceum Group, synonyms ''Apium graveolens'' Celeriac Group and ''Apium graveolens'' var. ''rapaceum''), also called celery root, knob celery, and turnip-rooted celery (although it is not a close relative of the ...

(apio),

taro Taro (; ''Colocasia esculenta'') is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, stems and Petiole (botany), petioles. Taro corms are a ...

ñame Yam is the common name for some plant species in the genus '' Dioscorea'' (family Dioscoreaceae) that form edible tubers (some other species in the genus being toxic). Yams are perennial herbaceous vines native to Africa, Asia, and the Ameri ...

, or yautía. A modern vegetarian variation of pastelón is popular recently as well replacing meat with mushrooms, eggplant, squash, string beans, potato or

chayote Chayote (; previously placed in the obsolete genus ''Sechium''), also known as christophine, mirliton, güisquil, and choko, is an edible plant belonging to the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae. This fruit was first cultivated in Mesoamerica between ...

References

Puerto Rican cuisine Dominican Republic cuisine Caribbean cuisine Casserole dishes {{caribbean-cuisine-stub