Puerto Rican Lasagna Food

SWEET PLANTAIN LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Heat just enough cooking oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat so that it will cover the plantains. Once water sizzles when sprinkled over the oil, add the plantains so that they are not touching. You will need to work in batches. Cook until they turn brighter yellow and are lightly browned. Remove to a paper towel lined plate. Set aside.
• Drain all but 1 tablespoon of the oil out of the pan and return to the stovetop. Add the diced onion and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
• Add the ground beef, adobo, cumin, and oregano. Cook until the beef is no longer pink. Stir in the sauce, cilantro and golden raisins. Taste and adjust seasoning, as needed.
• Place a layer of plantains in the bottom of a large baking dish. The one that I use is 12.5 x 8.5-inches. There may be some space between them and that's okay but you can also mash them some, if you'd like.
• Top the plantains with half of the beef mixture.
• Top the beef with 1 1/2 cups of the cheese.
• Add another layer of plantains, the remaining beef and another 1 1/2 cups of cheese. Top with a final layer of plantains and 1 cup of cheese.
• Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes, or until heated throughout.
• Top with minced fresh basil and serve hot.

PUERTO RICAN PLANTAIN LASAGNA

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°F.
• Coat a large baking pan with cooking spray.
• Arrange cut plantains into a single layer. Lightly salt and coat with cooking spray. The salt will bring out the sweet flavor of the plantains.
• Bake for 7 minutes on each side, or until plantains are golden brown and very tender.
• Once done, set aside to be used later to layer the lasagna.
• Lower the oven temperature to 350°F.
• Heat oil in a large saucepot over a medium high flame. Add onions; sauté until onions are tender. Add pepper and stir for another few minutes until peppers soften.
• Add the Soy Chorizo and 1-cup tomato sauce to the mixture and stir well. Reduce heat to a medium flame and simmer covered for another 5-7 minutes.
• To assemble Pastelon: In a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan, spread remaining ¼ cup tomato sauce. Then layer with plantains. Spread chorizo mixture on top of plantains. Layer with a handful of cheese. Repeat layers until the last layer is cheese. You will most likely get three layers.
• In a separate bowl, thoroughly beat eggs with milk. Pour evenly over the Pastelón. Let sit for a minute allowing the egg mixture to soak inches Top off with just a bit more cheese.
• Cover and bake for 20 minutes. Remove cover and let bake another 7 minutes.

PUERTO RICAN-STYLE CHICKEN LASAGNA

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Saute onion, bell peppers, shallots, sweet peppers, and scallions until soft, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, salt, pepper, and sugar. Simmer until flavors combine, about 1 hour. Add tomato paste to thicken the sauce, if necessary.
• Meanwhile, place chicken in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until an instant-read thermometer inserted near the thigh bone reads 165 degrees F (74 degrees C), 45 minutes to 1 hour. Drain and let cool until easily handled.
• Fill a blender halfway with sauce. Cover and hold lid down with a potholder; pulse a few times before leaving on to blend. Pour into a pot. Repeat with remaining sauce. Cover to keep warm.
• Pull chicken meat off the bones. Heat olive oil in a saucepan and saute garlic until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the boiled chicken and shred it with 2 forks. Moisten the mixture with chicken broth. Add sazon seasoning and olives; mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Cover the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish with a layer of lasagna noodles. Cover with some sauce, followed by some chicken, then a layer of mozzarella cheese. Repeat with remaining noodles, sauce, chicken, and cheese. Cover the final layer of mozzarella with Cheddar cheese for extra color. Cover with aluminum foil.
• Bake lasagna in the preheated oven until heated through and cheese is melted, about 25 minutes.

PASTELóN

Steps:

• Prepare the plantains: Line a sheet pan with paper towels; set aside. Cut off the ends of each plantain. With the tip of a knife, score plantains lengthwise and peel off the skin. Using a serrated knife or chef's knife, cut each plantain in half lengthwise, and then halve again lengthwise so you end up with 24 long slices. (If some of the slices break or are unevenly shaped, that's OK! Carry on.)
• In a large cast-iron or heavy skillet, heat 1 cup oil over medium-high to between 350 and 375 degrees. Working with 4 to 6 slices at a time, depending on what fits, fry plantains until deep golden brown, turning halfway through, about 6 minutes total. Transfer fried plantains to the prepared sheet pan and cook remaining plantains; set aside. (Let oil cool, then strain and reserve for another use.)
• Prepare the sofrito: Put onion, bell pepper, ají dulce chiles (if using), garlic, cilantro and culantro (if using), in a food processor; blend until it becomes a rough, wet purée. (You should have about 1 cup sofrito).
• Prepare the picadillo: In a large, heavy skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium until it shimmers. Add the sofrito and cook, stirring often, until purée thickens and starts to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the beef and stir in the salt, pepper, cumin, paprika and oregano. Cook, stirring occasionally, until beef is evenly cooked and no longer pink, about 8 minutes. Turn off heat. Push meat mixture to one side, and carefully tilt skillet so that the fat from the meat collects at the bottom of the tilted pan; spoon off and discard as much of this excess fat as you can.
• Return the skillet to medium heat. Add the chopped tomatoes, wine and tomato paste and cook, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes fall apart and the liquid starts to reduce, about 10 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in olives and raisins, if using. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Picadillo can be made up to 2 days in advance. Rewarm it in a pan on the stove before proceeding with recipe.)
• Prepare the pastelón: Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish with butter. Whisk the eggs with a pinch of salt and set aside.
• Lay half the fried plantain slices along the bottom of the baking dish crosswise, piecing any broken pieces together to form an even layer. (If there are small gaps in the plantain layer, this is OK.) Top with half the picadillo (about 2 cups), smoothing it into an even layer, then sprinkle half the cheese on top in an even layer. Repeat with another layer of plantains then the remaining picadillo. Pour the whisked eggs evenly over the picadillo layer and spread it so it settles down into the pastelón. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.
• Bake the pastelón until the egg is cooked, the cheese is melted and the layers are set, 20 to 30 minutes. Cut into squares and serve hot.