If you’ve been following us for long enough you know that Mixta was first Hola, Rita. The name, my middle name, comes from the original Rita, my mom. And as it turns out, she is also a terrific cook who makes THE best sweet plantain casserole or pastelón you’ll ever have. It’s the dish she makes almost as soon as I get home, if not that same day, and the one forever anchoring me to her kitchen and hands.
Yes, it has a lot of cheese. Several kinds of it, to be exact. Would I recommend it for your everyday diet? Nope. But should you make this for when your (vaccinated) friends and family come over? Absolutely.
This recipe feeds 6 people and you’ll need:
For the pastelón
5 small to medium sweet plantains —not too ripe or dark on the outside, but not too green—, seeds are taken out and cut into 1-2 inch cubes
1 small white onion finely chopped
1 tablespoon of butter
About 1 ½ to 2 cups of vegetable oil that can take high heat such as canola or an olive oil blend
For the cream
½ cup of milk
½ cup evaporated milk
½ cup heavy cream
2 oz cheddar cheese
2 oz mozzarella
3 slices of American cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
1 small bag of cheese mix of your choice for sprinkling
Peel your plantains and cut them into cubes, taking out the seeds or middle part and adding a tablespoon or so of oil to the bowl, so they don’t stick together. Heat up about a cup of oil. There should be enough to submerge and fry the plantains fully! Once hot, begin frying the plantain cubes in small batches until they are fully cooked but not scorched or too crunchy and cooling them on a plate with paper towels for excess oil. You know the drill.
While that happens, you’ll make the cream and slightly caramelize the onions. Add your onions to a pan with a tablespoon of butter and salt and pepper to taste. You’ll cook these until they turn translucent in low heat for about 10-15 minutes. You won’t really caramelize them, but the result should be tender and slightly brown.
Separately, start a pot with some water. The pot has to be big enough for you to fit another smaller one inside. This is where you will melt the cheese in a double boiler or baño maría. Heat the ½ cup of milk, ½ cup evaporated milk and ½ cup of heavy cream. Once hot (but not boiling), add the mozzarella and cheddar cheese slowly — if not shredded, cut them into small pieces to melt. Add salt and pepper to taste and the sliced American cheese while stirring gently. Once mixed, combine it with either a hand whisk or a hand blender right on the melting pot. Keep the burner in low heat to maintain the right consistency while you finish assembling the pastelón.
Preheat your oven to 300 F or 150 C and position the pan you’ll use near your ingredients — we recommend at least a 10 x 6 inches pyrex and ideally not too shallow. My mom often uses two smaller ones, so use what you’ve got. Lightly coat the bottom with some cream and start layering with sweet plantain until you reach the middle of your pan. Add some shredded cheese and onions. Follow up with some more cream, the rest of your plantains, some more cream, and sprinkle shredded cheese to finish it off. Try and make it so the ingredients don’t go past the borders and consider putting a baking sheet under it in case there are any (delicious) spills.
Bake the pastelón for 10-15 minutes, so the layers come together, checking that your oven is not running too hot and burning the top. If that happens, lower the temperature to 250 F or 120 C.
Take out and enjoy with your choice of protein and a lot of salad — Rita’s words, not mine. Take a picture and use the hashtag #THEpastelon when you make it and don’t forget to tag us @mixtamag. Make my mom’s dream come true!
PS — We're not professional recipe developers, so results may vary. That said, there's cheese and sweet plantains, so we're pretty confident ;)
