Puerto Rican cuisine is a wonderful alchemy of four different cultures: the original indigenous people, the Spanish colonizers, African slaves, and more recently, the United States of America.
Puerto Rican pasteles are a highly valued dish on the island. Like tamales, the dough of pasteles is typically made with green plantains, green bananas, taro root, or yuca. Although they are a popular dish during the holiday season, many Puerto Rican households enjoy eating them year-round.
It is believed that pasteles originated shortly after Puerto Rico's colonization by the Spaniards. It can also be traced back to the African slaves who brought cooking techniques such as frying to Puerto Rico.
In this sense, the development of pasteles is a hybrid of three cultures: the local indigenous peoples, the Spaniards, and African slaves.
This dough is filled with a kind of meat stew, typically with pork, onions, a variety of peppers, tomato sauce, cilantro, and olives.
Once filled, the dough is rolled in a banana leaf or a plantain leaf. Then, it is tied with a piece of string or a strip of the leaf.
Once prepared, they are steamed and served immediately or frozen until ready to use. Pasteles are usually made once a year and are served from early December until Lent, which extends from late February through late March or early April.
