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Pastelón (Puerto Rican–Style Plantain Lasagna)

Sweet plantains

Ingredients

Steps

Nutritional information

Chop onion, cubanelle peppers, and olives coarsely. Remove and discard casings from chorizo (wash hands).

Preheat large sauté pan on medium-high 2–3 minutes. Place 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in pan; add ground chuck and chorizo. Brown 5–7 minutes, stirring to crumble meat, until no pink remains and meat is 165°F. Stir onions, peppers, tomato paste, and sazón into pan. Cook 3–5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to soften. Stir in wine and bring to a boil.

Add olives, garlic powder, oregano, tomato sauce, recaito, stock, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce to pan; stir until blended. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low and cook 18–20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until liquid has reduced by three-fourths. Remove pan from heat and let stand to cool.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place remaining 2 cups vegetable oil in large, heavy-bottom stockpot (or Dutch oven) and heat to 350°F. Peel plantains and cut in half widthwise. Slice each half lengthwise into 3 (¼-inch-thick) planks. Fry plantains (in batches) 3–4 minutes until browned. Season with salt.

Grate cheese (3 cups), chop culantro, and beat eggs. Coat 13- x 9-inch baking dish with spray. Arrange one-half plantains in bottom of dish. Top with one-half each meat mixture (about 3 ½ cups), cheese, and culantro. Repeat with remaining half each plantains, meat mixture, and culantro. Pour eggs over mixture and tilt pan to distribute evenly; top with remaining half cheese.

Bake 30–35 minutes until edges are bubbling and top is golden. Let stand to cool 20 minutes. Cut into 12 squares; serve with Avocado-Olive Salad.

Shrimp

Mojo Shrimp

Juice grapefruit and limes (1/4 cup each). Slice green onions thinly; chop cilantro finely (1/4 cup). Combine in large bowl: grapefruit juice, lime juice, olive oil, cumin, oregano, garlic paste, and adobo seasoning until blended; reserve ¾ cup mojo. Place shrimp in medium bowl; add remaining ¼ cup mojo and stir to combine. Let stand to marinate 30 minutes.

Melt butter in large, nonstick sauté pan on medium 2–3 minutes. Add shrimp and cook 3–4 minutes, flipping occasionally, until shrimp are pink and opaque. Serve over Garlic-Onion Yuca; top with green onions, cilantro, and reserved mojo.

Pork

Chef's Tip

Multicooker Carnitas Street Tacos

Halve orange. Cut pork into 1 1/2-inch cubes; coat with salt (wash hands). Place pork, orange halves, cola, bay leaves, cinnamon stick, garlic, and 1 teaspoon cumin in multicooker. Close lid and seal following manufacturer’s instructions. Cook on HIGH 40 minutes (or place in slow cooker and cook on HIGH 4 hours) until pork is 185°F. Let steam release naturally 10 minutes, then release remaining steam carefully. Transfer pork and cooking liquid to wide roasting pan and chill 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, chop onion and cilantro finely. Juice 2 limes (2 tablespoons); cut remaining 2 limes into wedges. Heat lard in large Dutch oven to 325°F.

Remove cooled pork from braising liquid (reserve braising liquid for cooking rice or beans if desired); pat pork very dry. Fry pork, in batches if needed, 3–4 minutes until golden. Transfer fried pork to paper towel–lined baking sheet to drain. Place drained pork in medium bowl and shred coarsely. Stir in lime juice and remaining ½ teaspoon cumin; toss to coat well.

Warm tortillas following package instructions. Separate tortillas into 12 stacks of 2 tortillas each. Divide pork mixture among tortilla stacks; top with onions and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges and hot sauce.

Fish

Escabeche-Style Fish with Rice

Cook rice following package instructions (using listed water, 2 tablespoons oil, and ½ teaspoon salt). Slice onion thinly.

Meanwhile, preheat large sauté pan on medium-high 2–3 minutes. Season fish with ½ teaspoon pepper and remaining ½ teaspoon salt (wash hands). Place ¼ cup oil in pan, then add fish; cook 2–3 minutes on each side until centers of fillets flake easily and are 145°F. Transfer fish to large serving platter.

Place in same pan: onions, vinegar, garlic, bay leaves, olives, and remaining ½ teaspoon pepper and ¼ cup oil; cook and stir 7–8 minutes until onions are soft and sauce has reduced slightly.

Stir in orange juice; cook and stir 2–3 minutes. Remove bay leaves; spoon pan sauce over fish. Serve with rice.

Beef

Steps 

Carne Mechada

Peel carrots; cut celery and carrots into 4 pieces each. Quarter 1 onion; chop bell pepper, garlic, and remaining 1 onion finely.

Bring large saucepan of water to a boil; add steak, celery, carrots, and quartered onion. Cover and simmer 1 1/2–2 hours until steak is 190°F (for shreddable). Remove from heat and let stand to cool.

Heat oil in large sauté pan on medium 2–3 minutes. Add chopped onions; cook 4–5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden. Add garlic, bell peppers, salt, pepper, and cumin.

Remove beef from liquid (discard solids) and shred with 2 forks. Add shredded beef to sauté pan with vegetables; cook and stir 2–3 minutes. Stir in water, tomato sauce, and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes for flavors to blend; serve.

Chicken

Buffalo-Style Chicken Enchiladas

Preheat oven to 400°F. Remove chicken from bones (breast meat only) and shred (2 cups). Microwave tortillas on HIGH 30 seconds or until warm. Combine soup and salsa; spread ½ cup in bottom of 13- x 9-inch baking dish.

Combine dip and chicken; divide mixture evenly down centers of tortillas. Roll tortillas around filling and arrange seam-side down in dish. Top enchiladas with remaining soup mixture; sprinkle with cheese.

Cover dish with foil; bake 25–30 minutes until sauce is bubbly and chicken is 165°F. Serve.

Achiote-Marinated Chicken and Roasted Potatoes and Peppers

Cooking Sequence

Steps- Achiote-Marinated Chicken 

Steps- Roasted Potatoes and Peppers 

Achiote-Marinated Chicken with Roasted Potatoes and Peppers

Preheat oven; prepare chicken and begin to bake (20 minutes)

Prepare potatoes and bake with chicken (15 minutes)

Broiled Shrimp Tostadas

Preheat oven to broil on HIGH; line baking sheet with foil. Halve avocado, scoop out flesh, and chop coarsely. Chop cilantro (¼ cup) and cucumber (1 cup) finely; cut lime into wedges. Combine avocado, cilantro, cucumber, salsa, and 2 tablespoons dressing until well blended.

Place shrimp in medium bowl, add cumin and remaining 2 tablespoons dressing, and stir to combine. Arrange shrimp in single layer on prepared baking sheet (wash hands). Broil 3–4 minutes until shrimp are pink and opaque.

Arrange tostadas on serving platter. Top with salsa mixture, greens, and shrimp. Serve with lime wedges.

Nutritional Information

Latin-Style Pork with Yellow Rice

Cut bell peppers and onions into ½-inch-thick slices. Cut pork into thirds and season with salt and pepper (wash hands).

Preheat large stockpot on medium-high 2–3 minutes. Place 1 tablespoon oil in pot, add pork, and cook 2–3 minutes, turning occasionally, until browned. Remove pork and cover to keep warm.

Reduce heat to medium-low. Add peppers, onions, and garlic; cook 3–4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Stir in tomatoes (do not drain), capers, olives, cinnamon, and 2 tablespoons cumin. Return pork to pot and cover; simmer 30 minutes or until pork is 195°F (for shreddable).

Meanwhile, prepare rice following package instructions, using remaining 1 tablespoon each oil and cumin; stir in peas during last 1 minute of cook time. Shred pork and stir back into pot; serve pork mixture over rice.