[Recipe + Video] Pastelón en Hoja (Easy Pasteles Casserole)

We absolutely love pasteles en hoja, but let's be honest: they are a lot of work to make. This recipe for pastelón "en hoja" simplifies the process and retains the flavors and textures we love so much.

Course Dinner, Party

Cuisine Caribbean, Dominican, Latino

Keyword easy pasteles en hoja

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Servings servings

Calories 216kcal

Author Clara Gonzalez

Ingredients

Filling

Filling (see list above recipe)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (optional, for this I used a mozzarella and mild cheddar mix)

For the batter

1 plantain (green, unripe) peeled and chopped
⅓ pound yautía (malanga) [151 g] peeled and chopped
⅓ pound auyama (kabocha squash) [151 g] peeled and chopped
1 tablespoon seasoning powder (salt-free, must contain garlic and onion)
1¼ cup milk (whole or skim) [296 ml]
1½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon butter (salted) [28 g]
1 tablespoon bija (annato, achiote) powder

For covering

vegetable oil to grease pan and leaves
2 plantain leave squares
2 leafs parchment paper (Amazon affiliate link)
Aluminum foil
Salt

For garnishing

Ketchup (optional)
Hot sauce (optional)

Instructions

Making the batter by hand: Grate the plantain, yautía, and auyama with the least coarse side of the grater. Once grated, combine all the ingredients for the batter and mix well.
Making the batter with blender or food processor: Chop the plantain, yautía, and auyama, and combine with the rest of the ingredients for the batter. Pureé in a strong blender or a food processor until it's uniform, and you can't feel any clumps, but feels like grains of sand in it. It may take 5-10 minutes depending on the blender/processor.
Layering: Grease a lasagna pan, then line the bottom with parchment paper, then with a piece of plantain leaf that has been greased beforehand.
Layer half of the batter, then layer the filling. Add a layer of cheese, then the remaining batter.
Cover with a greased plantain leaf rectangle, then cover very tightly with aluminum foil.
Baking: Bake in an oven preheated to 300 ºF [150 ºC] for 50 minutes.
Remove from the oven and carefully lift a corner of the aluminum foil to check for doneness. Cover again and return to the oven for another 10-15 minutes if necessary.
Let it rest covered for 15 minutes, or until it's time to serve.
Serving: Serve garnished with hot sauce and/or ketchup.

Video

Notes

Ketchup? No ketchup? Hot sauce? No hot sauce? Nobody agrees on any of these questions. Ketchup is the most common dressing for this dish, followed by both. But you choose what you like best, and how much.

The nutritional info only includes the batter, not the filling. See the link above the recipe to pick a filling, and check its nutritional information in its recipe.

Nutrition