There are many versions of pastelón kicking around. It's not a lasagna or pasta dish at all, but it is a layered dish. Pastelón uses sweet ripe plantains to take the place of lasagna noodles and of course the filling ingredients are tropical in nature.

Many of the recipes call for slicing the plantains lengthwise and then cooking them before using them in the recipe. However, I have an different, yet easier way of doing it. Here is one of my favorite versions.

Ingredients

• Filling Ingredients
•  0.5 ounces salt pork (diced)
• 1 ounce cured ham (diced)
• 1 tablespoon achiote oil or achiotina
• 1/4 of a green bell pepper (seeded and finely chopped)
• 1 sweet chili pepper - aji dulce (seeded and finely chopped)
• 1 medium onion (peeled and finely chopped)
• 1 medium tomato (finely chopped)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (or 1 teaspoon fresh, chopped)
• 1 garlic clove (peeled and crushed)
• 3 pimento Spanish olives (chopped)
• 2 dried pitted prunes (chopped)
• 1 teaspoon raisins
• 1/2 teaspoon capers
• 1/4 cup tomato sauce
• salt to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
• 8 ounces (half pound) ground beef
• Plantains
• 5 large ripe plantains (un-peeled, but cut in half)
• 6 cups water
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour

• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 45 minutes

• Total Time: 60 minutes
• Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Preparation

Make the Filling

In a pot, brown the salt pork and cured ham in the achiote oil. Turn down the heat and add the bell pepper, sweet chili pepper, onion and tomato. Sauté for 5 minutes.

Add the oregano, garlic, olives, prunes, raisins, capers, tomato sauce, salt, vinegar and ground beef. Mix together well, cover and cook over medium heat for 10 minutes and then remove the lid and continue to cook for another 10 minutes.

Stir occasionally to prevent sticking and burning. Remove from the heat when cooking time is over.

Prepare the Plantains

Put the water and a tablespoon of salt into a large pot. Bring to a boil and then add un-peeled plantains and boil for 15 minutes. Drain the plantains, peel them and then mash them. Mix the mashed plantains with butter and flour.

Layer and Bake the Pastelón

Preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit (177 Celsius).  

Grease a 10-inch pie pan. Spread half of the mashed plantains over the bottom of the pan. Then, layer on all the ground beef mixture. Cover with the remaining mashed plantain mixture.

Place the pie or "lasagna" in the oven on a rack centered in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Remove when done and allow to cook on a wire rack. Serve Warm.