Puerto Rican · main

Pasteles de Masa

Pasteles de Masa reads fruity 5.4, umami 5.1 and richness 4.8 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Puerto Rican main, about 2 hr 42 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

The measured notes (of 18)

Fruity 5.4 · Umami 5.1 · Richness 4.8 · Sweetness 4.7 · Salinity 3.7 · Sourness 3.1 · Nutty 1.7 · Earthy 1.7 · Herbaceous 1.4 · Citrus 1.0 · Floral 1.0 · Bitterness 0.6

What's in it (16)

Time & effort: about 2 hr 42 min · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 117.1 kcal, 6.2 g protein, 5.2 g fat, 11.8 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains dairy — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (7 steps)

  1. Pasteles are the Christmas dish, and they are a group project — this quantity makes about 20 and takes an afternoon. The masa is not corn; it is grated root vegetable and green banana, which is why the finished pastel is dense and silky rather than crumbly. Yautía, calabaza and green bananas are all sold at Caribbean groceries.
  2. Wear gloves if your hands are sensitive; raw yautía and green banana sap irritates skin. Grate the green bananas, yautía, calabaza and green plantains on the fine side of a box grater or in a food processor with the fine shredding disc, about 30 minutes of work. The finer the grate, the better the texture.
  3. Beat in 180 ml of the achiote oil, the milk and 2 teaspoons of the salt until the masa is the texture of soft mashed potato and evenly orange. Cover and refrigerate while you make the filling.
  4. For the guiso, brown the diced pork in a wide pan over medium heat, then add the sofrito, tomato sauce, alcaparrado, chickpeas, sazón and the remaining teaspoon of salt. Cook 30 minutes, until the meat is tender and the fat runs orange at the edges. Cool it completely — warm filling makes the masa slump.
  5. Pass the banana leaf squares over a gas flame or a hot dry pan for a few seconds a side until they turn glossy and pliable and smell faintly of tea. Brittle leaves split when you fold them.
  6. To assemble, lay a parchment square down, put a banana leaf on it, and brush the leaf with the remaining achiote oil. Spread about 120 g of masa into a rectangle, spoon a line of guiso down the middle, then fold the leaf over so the masa closes around the filling. Fold the parchment into a flat parcel, pair two parcels back to back, and tie them crosswise with twine. Allow about 40 minutes for the whole assembly line.
  7. Boil the tied pasteles in well-salted water for 55 minutes, turning them once. Drain, snip the twine, and open them at the table — the leaf is the wrapper, not the food. Serve with arroz con gandules.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.