I’ve already decided, my last meal on this Earth will be pastelón. If you’ve ever had it, you know why. If you haven’t, put this on your bucket list now! Pastelón is a Puerto Rican version of lasagna. Instead of noodles, we use fried sweet plantain slices, layer it up with delish picadillo and cheese, and the whole thing is baked into a bubbly, cheesy, gooey, amazing, ridiculous…I think you get it. This is the kind of food that makes you think you died and went to heaven.
6-7 very ripe plantains (almost all black)
1 recipe’s worth of picadillo
2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/2 grated cup Parmesan cheese
3 eggs, beaten
Canola oil, for frying
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
First off, you want super duper ripe plantains for this recipe. They should mostly be black with spots of yellow, just like these. This will guarantee the sweetest plantains, which is essential for the sweet and salty combo that is the signature of pastelón.
Peel the plantains like you would a banana, then slice each into into 4-5 slices lengthwise.
Add about 1 inch of oil into a frying pan and heat it on medium heat. When the oil is hot, fry the plantain slices in batches, until golden brown. Drain them on paper towels.
Grease a 9″ x 13″ baking dish and cover the bottom of the pan with slices of the cooked sweet plantain.
Add all of the picadillo, and 1/2 of the mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
Cover the picadillo and cheese with another layer of fried plantains.
Top with the remaining cheese, then pour the beaten eggs all over the top. Tip the pan back and forth to distribute the eggs. This will hold the pastelon together when you cut it.
Bake the pastelón at 375 degrees F for 20-30 minutes, until the egg is set and the top of the pastelón is bubbly and golden brown.
Allow the pastelon to cool for 15 minutes before cutting into it and serving it up! I like serving this with my Avocado, tomato and watercress salad.
Buen provecho!
- 6-7 very ripe plantains (almost all black)
- 1 recipe's worth of picadillo
- 2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
- ½ grated cup Parmesan cheese
- 3 eggs, beaten
- Canola oil, for frying
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
- Peel the plantains like you would a banana, then slice each into into 4-5 slices lengthwise.
- Add about 1 inch of oil into a frying pan and heat it on medium heat. When the oil is hot, fry the plantain slices in batches, until golden brown. Drain them on paper towels.
- Grease a 9" x 13" baking dish and cover the bottom of the pan with slices of the cooked sweet plantain.
- Add all of the picadillo, and ½ of the mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
- Cover the picadillo and cheese with another layer of fried plantains.
- Top with the remaining cheese, then pour the beaten eggs all over the top. Tip the pan back and forth to distribute the eggs. This will hold the pastelon together when you cut it.
- Bake the pastelon at 375 degrees F for 20-30 minutes, until the egg is set and the top of the pastelón is bubbly and golden brown.
- Allow the pastelon to cool for 15 minutes before cutting into it and serving it up!