Ingredients: |
Ingredients: Masa (dough):
10 pounds of yucca (also known as cassava)
1 can evaporated milk
11/4 cup of sofrito*
2 small beef broth cubes
2 T salt
1.5 tsp onion powder
1.5 tsp garlic powder
5 oz of water
1 packet Sazon with Culantro and Achiote
2 cups of the broth from the cooked meat
Achiote (see below) – need ½ cup and then 1 cup for the masa
Achiote:
8 T achiote seeds (annatto)
3 cups of vegetable oil
Meat Filling
3 T light olive oil
5 pounds pork butt or shoulder, cut into small cubes
salt and pepper to taste
1 small onion, roughly chopped
1 small green pepper, roughly chopped
½ bunch chopped cilantro
3-4 cloves garlic, mashed or minced
1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
2 packets Sazon with Culantro and Achiote
1 cup water
Other
Olives
Aluminum Foil (cut into squares)
Banana Leaves (thawed and cut into rectangles a little wider than a dollar bill)
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Directions: |
Directions:Day 1
• If the yucca is frozen, let it thaw. Whether thawed or fresh, remove the inner woody “thread”.
• If you have a food processor, you’ll use the shredding blade first and then run it through again using the grating blade. The mixture will be a little dry.
• If you have a pasteles machine, grate it in the machine and add a little of the evaporated milk to get the yucca going through the chute.
• Once the entire yucca is grated, put it in one or two large colanders (with a plate underneath). If the holes are large, line the colander(s) with cheesecloth or a paper towel.
• Drain overnight to remove the excess starch.
Day 2: Make the Meat
• Brown the meat by seasoning it with salt and pepper in a Dutch oven with a little bit of olive oil.
• Add the bell pepper and onion and cook a few minutes until they get tender.
• Add the garlic and cilantro and cook a few minutes more.
• Add the Sazon, water and tomato sauce plus salt and pepper to taste.
• Cover and cook until tender about 60 to 90 minutes. You can turn up the heat to for part of the cooking to help accelerate the tenderness.
• NOTE: You can also make the meat on Day 1, let it cool and then use it on Day 2.
Day 2: Season the Masa
• Simmer ½ cup of the achiote oil and add 1 ¼ cup of sofrito to the pan. Cook for a couple of minutes. Add the beef cubes, water, salt, onion powder and garlic powder. Cook a low heat for another 5 minutes.
• Add the sofrito mix to the drained yucca along with any evaporated milk you didn’t use in grating it, the packet of Sazon and another cup of the achiote oil. Mix well and add 2 cups of the broth from the cooked pork.
Day 2: Form the Pasteles
Follow the traditional method of wrapping the pasteles by starting with a piece of banana leave on the foil, then 1 T of achiote oil followed by about ½ c. of masa and 2 T of meat. Add one olive on top and fold.
If fresh, cook for 45 minutes; if frozen, cook for an hour. These tend to be better cooking them after they’ve been frozen. Let cool for a few minutes before unwrapping them.
*You can use a store-bought sofrito but the original inventor of this recipe recommends the one that says Culantro (it’s green) or you can use your regular sofrito recipe. Also, if you don’t want to cut the vegetables for the meat, you can use sofrito instead. |
This recipe for Pasteles de Yucca is from