Vegan Puerto Rican Pasteles

The Holiday Season cannot be complete without pasteles. Enjoy this #VeganizedPuertoRican, where you can learn to make Vegan Pasteles.

Vegan | Gluten-Free | Soy-free

I’ve been doing VeggieJeva for 3 years now, and I can say that the most consistently requested recipe has been Vegan Pasteles. Publishing this recipe on the blog is something that I have given a lot of thought to and to be honest, shied away from year after year. Mostly because of the complexity of the recipe, and I was afraid that it wouldn’t resonate with my audience, since I mostly do simple and short recipes. 

I’m going to start off by saying that this recipe is NOT easy, it’s NOT something that you can whip up in 30 minutes, and it’s NOT something that you’ll get right on your first time. But don’t shy away from this recipe just yet. If you’re one of the fortunate people that still have their abuelitxs around, (or even your parents), they might be able to help you out since they probably already know how to make pasteles.

Obviously, at this time, keep into consideration COVID measures to keep everyone safe.

With all that being said, Vegan Pasteles is literally my favorite Puerto Rican recipe. It was one of the first #VeganizedPuertoRican that my grandmother veganized when I wasn’t even vegan yet. I grew up eating her pasteles on Thanksgiving, Christmas & Día de Reyes, so I couldn’t imagine going through a holiday season without them.

What are Pasteles?

For those of you who are not Puerto Rican (or from the Caribbean), you may be wondering what the hell are pasteles. Puerto Rican pasteles can be considered to be a sort of patty made of a combination of root vegetables, green banana, plantain, potato, and pumpkin, and stuffed with either vegetables, ground meat, pork chunks, or chicken. 

Variations of pasteles exist all across the Caribbean and Latin America. For example, in Mexico, they’re called Tamales; instead of making them with a root veggie & banana masa, they’re made with corn masa. 

Veganizing Pasteles

One of the reasons why I hesitated to make this a VeggieJeva recipe was that in my eyes, it was one of the easiest veganizable recipes (you’ll see why, keep reading). But I’ve grown to learn that even though veganizing it is super easy, making the actual recipe is not. 

Making pasteles can take anywhere from 2-4 days (depending on how many you want to make) because it’s such a labor-intensive recipe; as my Abuelita says “making pasteles is not a joke!. Although since we’re making Vegan Pasteles, the prepping & cooking of the meat is way shorter. And then, 1. not everyone has their abuelitxs or parents around to help out, 2. not everyone has the time and space to do them, 3. not everyone can trust a stranger to successfully veganize pasteles without any cross-contamination when they make multiple options. So here we are.

Truthfully, there’s not much of a change from the original recipe, as 90% of it consists of root vegetables. All of the changes made for the Vegan Pasteles are swaps, so the essence of the recipe stays intact.

The biggest swap being the filling, since traditionally pasteles are filled with pork chunks. However, here we usually swap that out for soy ground (the easiest & fastest), but it can also be done with mushrooms, jackfruit, and even seitan. The second swap was the milk; my grandmother has always made her pasteles with milk, but we know that some people use the broth from the pork chunks. In our case, we use unsweetened almond or coconut milk. Everything else is already vegan.

Short Video of the Process

What’s not shown on the video: the process of peeling, grating, and straining all of the vegetables. We just included a brief clip of doing so with the potato so you could get an idea. 

Acknowledgments: I want to thank my grandmother for helping me out with the development of this recipe. I truly couldn’t have done this one without her.

Notes:

• The only equipment needed for this recipe is a sturdy grater. Other than that you’ll need parchment paper, cooking twine, and banana leaves. Don’t let anyone convince you that you need any sort of expensive machinery. With that being said, the grating process can be cut in time if (and only if) you happen to have an industrial-strength food processor. But it’s not our preferred method, as the root vegetables may not end up as fine as needed for this recipe. 
• This recipe can be very labor-intensive for just one person. The process of peeling and grating the vegetables alone can take hours. So if you don’t have someone else to help you out, consider dividing this recipe into 2 or 3 days.
• My grandmother asked me to specifically say this: It is VITAL to remove all excess water from the root vegetables before creating the masa. Please don’t skip this step, otherwise, your final result will be a soupy mess.
• We love making a variation of this recipe, where we substitute the green bananas for yuca and make yuca pasteles instead. 
• Achiote oil is literally olive oil mixed with annatto(achiote) seeds. Make this by mixing 1 cup of olive oil and ⅓ cup annatto seeds in a pot and warming it over medium heat. Once oil begins to simmer lower heat to low and allow to cook for an extra five minutes. Remove pot from heat and allow achiote oil to cool completely before draining through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth. The end result should be a reddish oil.

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Vegan Puerto Rican Pasteles

Rating: 3.5/5

( 12 voted )

Serves: 10 Prep Time: 2 Hours Cooking Time: 30 Minutes 30 Minutes Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

Filling:

• 2 cups soy ground 
• 2 tbsps sofrito
• 1 tbsp tomato sauce (optional)
• 1 tbsp olive oil (or vegan butter)
• ½ cup bell peppers, chopped
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup veggie stock
• Salt & pepper, to taste

Masa:

• 12 green (unripe) bananas 
• 2 green (unripe) plantains
• 2 pounds yautía (malanga)
• 1 pound pumpkin
• 1 large potato
• ¼ cup achiote oil
• ½ -¾ cup unsweetened plant-based milk (or veggie broth)
• Salt & pepper to taste

Other ingredients:

• ½ cup achiote oil
• Banana leaves cut into 7.5 in x 6 in (yield for 20 pieces)

Procedure

Filling: 

1. To a saucepan, add olive oil, garlic & onions. Saute for about 5 minutes on medium-low heat until translucent. 
2. Then add bell peppers, sofrito, tomato sauce & soy ground. Mix until well combined. Season with salt & pepper to taste.
3. Proceed to add the veggie stock, and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 10 minutes or until the water has evaporated. Adjust seasoning as desired.
4. When ready, remove from heat and set aside.

Masa:

1. Fill a large bowl with hot water, and add a generous amount of salt to the water.
2. Cut off both ends of the bananas and plantains. To remove the skins, simply make a slit down the back and front of each banana with the tip of your knife. Then carefully peel the skins. Place into the salted water to avoid discoloration.
3. Next, remove the tough rind from the pumpkin. Cut the pumpkin into 2-inch pieces and add them into the bowl of salted water.
4. Use a peeler to peel the yautía, then cut it lengthwise in fourths. Add it to the bowl with the rest of the veggies.
5. Peel the potato and cut it in quarters lengthwise and add it to the bowl of salted water.
6. Set out individual bowls for each of the vegetables. Grate with a sturdy grater the yautía, green bananas, green plantains, pumpkin, and potato; place each in an individual bowl. I recommend using disposable gloves, as uncooked plantains will stain your hands and kitchen towels.
7. Place all of the veggies over a strainer (or cheesecloth), and strain the excess moisture out. Straining the grated yautía, green bananas, green plantains, potato, and pumpkin puree, might be easier if done individually. Doing it all at the same time will require a large strainer or cheesecloth.
8. Once all of the vegetables have been strained, add to a large bowl and mix until well incorporated. 
9. To the masa, mix in salt & pepper to taste, and achiote oil. Then proceed to gradually add the milk until you get the desired texture. Adjust seasoning if needed. Now you’re ready to assemble and wrap the pasteles.

Assembling: 

1. First, soften up the banana leaves by passing them through an open flame in a gas stove (or bbq). This will melt the film that coats the leaves and makes them soft/flexible. We usually do this before cutting them into 7.5in x 6in pieces; by doing this, you’ll keep the open flame far away from your hand.
2. Prepare a work surface to assemble and wrap the pasteles. You’ll need the heated banana leafs, parchment paper cut into 18in x 12in rectangles (or buy pre-cut sheets) and cooking twine cut to approximately 40-inches. 
3. For each pastel, lay out a piece of parchment paper, topped with one piece of the softened banana leaf. Place ½ tbsp of achiote oil on the center of the banana leaf.
4. Place about two spoonfuls (about ¼ cup) of masa onto the center of the leaf and spread it into an oval that leaves a 1-inch margin of banana leaf showing.
5. Then add about 1-2 spoonfuls of the filling and top with another spoonful of masa. Your goal is to line the filling along the center of the masa, so that each bite of pastel has a bite of filling.
6. Bring the two long edges of the paper rectangle up to meet each other over the pastel. Once the edges are lined up, fold the paper over one inch. Now, fold the parchment over in half to form a band that's almost as wide as the pastel. Working carefully, use the side of your hand to press and slide the masa on either side of the package into the center to give it a neat edge. Fold in 1 inch of the paper on the left and right sides to create small hems. Then fold both sides over the pastel.
7. Next, tie the pastel with a piece of twine in a cross pattern (see video for reference) to keep the paper from opening in the pot and/or to avoid water getting into the pastel.
8. After preparing each pastel, you’ll end up having a big batch. Separate the ones you’ll eat immediately, and the ones that you’ll save up for later. You can freeze them for up to 6 months. 

Cooking the Vegan Pasteles:  

1. To cook the Vegan Pasteles, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the pasteles, either fresh or frozen, in a single layer. Let cook for 35-45 minutes (or up to 1 hour if frozen).
2. Once the pasteles are cooked, remove them from the pot using kitchen tongs and place them in a strainer to drain. 
3. To serve, cut the strings off of the pasteles with scissors and very carefully open the banana leaves and parchment paper. 
4. Place the pastel on a serving plate along with Jackfruit Pernil, Arroz con Gandules, and/or a Vegan Potato Salad. ENJOY!

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