Pasteles is a savory root-vegetable-based dish similar to a tamal with different versions throughout the Spanish-speaking Caribbean islands. It’s commonly eaten during the holidays, but you can find it in Puerto Rican restaurants year-round, especially in the countryside lechoneras. This post is all about pasteles de yuca, Puerto Rican style. Yuca, a delicious and versatile root vegetable, is the protagonist of this dish. Because the masa in this recipe is made with just one vegetable, I find it a great recipe to use if you’re getting started in making pasteles. For this recipe, I filled them with the traditional stewed pork, but you can also get creative with other fillings like stewed duck. If you want to try to make vegan pasteles, I recommend replacing the pork with chopped eggplant, just as yummy.
Preparing Pasteles de Yuca
Making Puerto Rican pasteles de yuca is a time-consuming activity, and I highly recommend getting your family or friends together to prepare the pasteles. It’s helpful to have stations where a person is in charge of assembling each stage. Making these brings back great memories of making them with my mom and aunts. If you don’t have a team of people to help you out, you can make the guiso (stuffing) the day prior.
Filling Your Pasteles de Yuca
For this pasteles de yuca recipe, we fill it with stewed pork shoulder (guiso). In the video, I used a whole pork shoulder, which yields plenty of meat to stuff around 100 pasteles. If you don’t have the energy to make 100 pasteles, the guiso is delicious, served alone with rice and fried plantains or as an empanada stuffing. You can also freeze it and use it later. For that rich Puerto Rican flavor, the stewed meat is seasoned with sofrito, adobo, sazon, and olives.
Storing & Serving
I recommend freezing the pasteles de yuca because you can then cook them at your leisure. Pack them in two. We call those “yuntas” and freeze them. Grab the yuntas and cook them in boiling water for 45 minutes. Our video includes specific instructions on packing, storing, and cooking the pasteles de yuca. ¡Buen provecho!
Recipe: Pasteles de Yuca
Pasteles de yuca, a savory root-vegetable-based delicacy, is a traditional Puerto Rican dish. Similar to a tamal, it comprises a masa (dough) filled with mear and wrapped in banana leaf.
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Total Time: 5 hours
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: Pasteles
- Cuisine: Puerto Rican
Ingredients
Guiso (Stew)
This recipe yields stuffing for around 100 pasteles with the guiso recipe.
8–9 Lb Pernil
2 tbsp of annatto seed oil
1/3 cup sofrito
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup pitted olives, Spanish style
1 tbsp of Adobo
1/2 teaspoon of sazón (double if it doesn’t have MSG)
2–3 Bay Leaves
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Leftover Broth of cooked pernil
Instructions
For the guiso
- Place the whole piece of pork in a heavy pan such as a caldero or a Dutch oven. Top the meat with cold water, add salt and pepper, and cook for 45 minutes.
- Remove the meat and save the broth in a separate container. Cut the meat into small, 1 inch cubes, set aside.
- Rinse the caldero and add olive oil and let it heat for a minute or so.
- Add the remaining guiso ingredients and let them cook for five minutes until well blended.
- Add the cubed meat and broth to the pan and let it cook at low heat for 2 hours until the meat is extremely soft. Stir it periodically.
For the masa
- Peel the yuca. To save time, I buy the yuca frozen. If you want to go that route, ensure you defrost the yuca entirely.
- Run the pieces of yuca through the food processor. I like to grate it first and then run it through the large blade to get a smooth masa. If you don’t have a food processor, I recommend a box grater using the smallest holes.
- Once you grate the yuca, use a cheesecloth to get rid of extra moisture. If you don’t have a cheesecloth, you can also use a sieve, and it will take longer, but you will get the same results.
- Add the milk, achiote oil, and spices to the masa. You can store the masa in the refrigerator overnight if you need to space out your pastel process.
To wrap the pasteles de yuca
Wapping the pasteles de yuca is better explained visually. We show you how to wrap the pasteles in the video.
