Quote:
Originally Posted by seguidordejesus
Looks good, sort of like a Puerto Rican empanada, looks like.
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The Puerto Rican alcapurria is like the Mexican empanada.
We also make PASTELES. They are somewhat similar to tamales except instead of using corn meal we use ... guess what? Plantains!!!!
Wiki:
Pasteles - For many Puerto Rican families, the quintessential holiday season dish is "
pasteles" which English-speakers often literally translate to "cakes". Pasteles are not a sweet pastry or cake, but a soft dough-like mass wrapped in a banana / plantain leaf and boiled. In the center of the "dough" are choice pieces of chopped meat, chicken, raisins, spices, olives, and often a garbanzo bean. Puerto Rican pasteles are similar in shape, size, and cooking technique to Mexican tamales. The "dough" in a Mexican tamal is made from corn meal; the "dough" in a Puerto Rican pastel is made from either cooked plantains or starchy tropical roots. The wrapper in a Mexican tamal is a corn shuck; the wrapper in a Puerto Rican pastel is a banana leaf. The combination of spices is totally different, so if you are familiar with tamales, pasteles won't taste at all the same.
The making of "
pasteles" is a labor-intensive social activity. Many family members will get together for hours or days to make dozens to hundreds of "
pasteles" to share with friends and loved ones. Pasteles from the Island are often shipped overseas packed in dry ice during the long Christmas season. They are received as a nostalgic, much treasured gift.
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