Pasteles

"Pasteles" (singular: pastel; pronounced pas-TEL-les) are a traditional dish of Latin America and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean. In Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean Coast of Colombia, it is similar to a tamale and said to have originating from Canary Islands. In Central American cuisine, it more closely resembles a pasty (a type of British pie) or an Italian calzone. There are different types of flours to make dough, depending on the type of pasteles, including "pasteles de masa" (The dough or masa can consist of a combination of grated green banana, green plantain, taro and pumpkin, cassava or rice.), "pasteles de yuca" (cassava) and "pasteles de arroz" (rice) and plátano (plantain).

Pasteles contain a variety of fillings. The filling depends, once again, on the type of pasteles. Pasteles can be filled with ground meat, diced meat, pudding, or vegetables (either finely diced or grated). In Central American pasteles the filling is placed in the center of disk made of dough. The dough is then folded over and the edges sealed and fried. It is often served with "curtido", a type of relish resembling sauerkraut.

Puerto Rican and Dominican pasteles are much more labor intensive. The masa is seasoned with liquid from the meat mixture and annatto oil, placed in a piece of banana leaf with a sheet of parchment paper under it. It is then stuffed with stewed meat usually pork or chicken, folded and tied, then boiled for an extended period of time.

Assembling a typical pastel involves a large sheet of parchment paper, a strip of banana leaf that has been heated over an open flame to make it supple, a little annato oil on the leaf, masa (dough), seasoned meat, one or two olives, a few raisins, a few chickpeas, and a piece of roasted red pepper. The paper is then folded and tied with kitchen string to form packets.

Once made, pasteles can either be cooked in boiling water or frozen for later use. Because they are so labor intensive, Puerto Rican and Dominican families typically make anywhere from 50-200 or more in one sitting, especially around the Christmas holidays. They are usually served with rice and pigeon peas (arroz con gandules), roasted pork, and other holiday foods.

In Hawaii, locals incorrectly use the singular word "pastele" and pronounce it "pa-TEL-es" without the s. This may be due to the silent "s" often used in Puerto Rican Spanish.

References

*http://www.boricua.com/2006_Issues/November/pasteles.html
*http://www.whats4eats.com/recipes/r_st_pasteles.php
*http://www.salsapura.com/category/10814496