The Christmas season in Puerto Rico is blessed with balmy weather and clear skies. There is nothing like dining under the shade of a gourd tree on Christmas Eve, savoring every morsel of the earthy tamales called pasteles and adobo-flavored pork while looking at the sea.
Puerto Rican women get together with their families to prepare pasteles by the hundred, freezing them until needed for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, family reunions, the Fiesta de Reyes, and the religious season called octavas that follows the Feast of the Epiphany.
It is the blend of the tiny pepper ají dulce and broad-leaf culantro in the fragrant sofrito (cooking sauce) that gives an unmistakable Puerto Rican identity to these earthy tamales. A dash of vinegar lends the sofrito just the right amount of tang against the mild dough of malanga and plantain tinted orange-yellow with achiote-infused lard.
I learned to make these in the traditional kitchen of the Puerto Rican side of my family. While one person took care of trimming the plantain leaves, others were busy grating the vegetables and making the sofrito. There the vegetables are grated by hand, though you can find machines designed specially for this purpose in any market or use a food processor. Puerto Ricans are extremely fussy about the wrapping—it has to be perfect and watertight because pasteles are normally boiled. But I prefer to steam them.
Recipe information
Yield
Makes 25 pasteles
Ingredients
For the Seasoning Base (Recado)
6
1
1
8
20
1
1
2
1
1
For the Cooking Sauce (Sofrito)
1
8
1
1
For the Masa
1
1
1
1
8
1
1
For the Wrappers
1
For the Garnishes
1
2
50
Need to make a substitution?
Preparation
Making the Recado
Step 1
Place all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and puree. Set aside. DO AHEAD: You can make the seasoning base (recado) the day before.
Making the Sofrito
Step 2
Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon and brown for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the pork and cook, stirring, until it begins to release its fat, about 15 minutes.
Step 3
Stir in the recado, reduce the heat to low, and cook, covered, for about 50 minutes, or until the pork is tender when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife. Add some chicken broth if the sauce thickens too much during cooking. When the meat is done, transfer it to a plate with a slotted spoon. Set the sauce aside. DO AHEAD: You can make the sofrito the day before.
Making the Masa
Step 4
Working in 2 or 3 batches, puree the milk, malanga, green bananas, green plantain, and calabaza in a blender or food processor and pour into a large bowl. Add the oil and salt and mix well to color the masa evenly. Stir in the reserved sauce. Taste for seasoning and set aside.
Wrapping the Tamales
Step 5
Place one plantain leaf square on a work surface with the veins perpendicular to you. Brush generously with achiote oil. Place 3 heaping tablespoons of masa in the center of the leaf and spread into a 6-inch square, leaving a 3-inch margin on all sides. Place 3 tablespoons of the diced pork on top, forming a rectangle. Garnish with 4 raisins, 4 chickpeas, a strip of red pepper, and 4 olive halves. Tie the tamal following the instructions for the pastel wrap (see Cooks' notes). Repeat with the remaining wrappers and ingredients. DO AHEAD: You can prepare the plantain leaves the day before.
Cooking the Tamales
Step 6
Using two steamers (or working in batches), steam for about 1 hour (see Cooks' notes).
