Puerto Rican Shepherd Pie (Pastelon)

"I have made this with just the meat cooked with sofrito and sazon, and the sweet plantains fried and layered like it says. Even simply made, this is absolutely delicious!..." See more"

"This was incredible! I had no knowledge of this recipe going into making this dish (the ingredients just sounded unusual enough, and I love a Cottage Pie), so I didn't know til after the fact that "Pa..." See morestelon" is a lasagna w/ the plaintains as the noodle. (Otherwise I would've followed the recipe more accurately and cut them in lengths, rather than in rounds.) I think the homemade sofrito is one of the things that really made this meal special. I took a big spoonful of the meat while it was simmering and thought I'd died and gone to heaven. As far as the layering of the dish went, I used an 8X8 pyrex, did 1/2 the plantains (again, mine were fried in rounds) 3 eggs beaten w/ Adobo, the full 1 lb. sofrito/meat, 1 can green beans, the remaining plantains (of which total, I only used 2 -- next time I will definitely use more plantains, and, *bonks self on head* cut them correctly), and 3 more eggs beaten w/ Adobo. When I made the sofrito, I had enough leftover to freeze about 5 ice cubes' worth for another night. And I'm already anxious for that other night to come b/c I plan on making Leticia's recipe again! (Btw, my name's Ticia, so that made this recipe stand out all the more.)"

"This recipe was ok. Totally edible but not as authentic as I'd prefer. My mom has been making this for years. Although her recipes differs. Personally, the secret is in the "sofrito". My mother usuall..." See morey makes sofrito in large batches and freezes it in ice cube trays. Once they're frozen, she pops them into large ziplocs. This way, you can use as little or as much as you'd like without fear of spoiling the batch. The plantains should be as ripe as possible & cut lengthwise for best results. My husbands Italian family LOVES Pastelon!"