Pasteles de Pollo!

Pasteles - (according to Wikipedia) are a traditional dish in several Latin American countries. In Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Trinidad and Tobago, the Caribbean coast of Colombia, and Panama, it is similar to a tamale.


Traditionally, pasteles are made with pork, but since Mama knows I don't eat pork, she promised to teach me how to make them with pollo (chicken).  A promise made is a promise kept with Mama, so...enjoy the recipe!


Mama's very first rule in making pasteles...hairnets!  Yes, hairnets because she said the last thing you want is for someone to find one of your hairs smack in the middle of their mouth...not cute.

Stylin'!

Double stylin'!

Chicken cubes!

Mama had already pre-cut the chicken without me so no pics of that, but they just have to be cubes of chicken.  She uses chicken breasts and chicken thighs (she uses the drumsticks for Max LOL).  


Alright now that we have our hairnets on...let's get started!  Place all of the chicken cubes in an iron pot (the same pot we use for rice and for frying).  Then you throw in sofrito, a packet of cubito en polvo de pollo by Goya, manteca con achiote (I'll explain that next), a packet of Sazon, about half a can of tomato sauce, olives, and about half a cup of water.  All of this while the pot is on medium/high heat.  Please note that some folks put raisins and/or pieces of potatoes in their pasteles.  Mama doesn't so you won't get that in this recipe but like any great recipe, you can take the foundation and then improvise to make it your own.

Pollo with sofrito and Sazon

Goya packet

What it should look like

Ok let me explain this manteca con achiote.  Manteca is lard.  Achiote is used to add color to the food.  You combine the two in a pot and place on medium heat for about 10 minutes.  Strain the mixture and put some to the side in a small bowl for use later.  Use about a spoonful for the chicken mix and later, you will use about a spoonful to add to the masa of the pastele. 

Manteca

Achiote

Combine, heat and strain!

Once you have added all the ingredients and sauteed them a bit, you lower the heat and cover it so that the meat can come out nice and soft.  The meat should cook for about 30 minutes.  In the meantime you prepare your masa.  Now, Mama also prepared this when I wasn't around and had it in the fridge.  She says all she did was put guineos (green bananas) through the food processor.   She says she used about 10.   Just before the chicken was about ready, Mama put about a spoonful or two of the manteca con achiote in the masa mix for added flavor and coloring.  Please note: guineos are NOT plantains.  They are the small green bananas NOT the big green bananas. 

Masa

Next thing I knew Mama was mumbling something about ojas it took me a few minutes but then I realized that ojas are leaves.  She grabbed her machete and headed to the backyard to cut a few ojas de platano...this is what we wrap the pasteles in.  After grabbing the ojas, Mama turned on her stove and proceeded to heat the leaves (see video).  This gets them softer and prepares them to be folded while holding the masa and chicken in place.  (If your not on a caribbean island like I am, don't worry you can often find these leaves sold in the freezer section of your local urban supermarket!)

Mama and her machete

Mama scoping out ojas

After the ojas have been heated, you have to cut them and wipe them down.  Mama says not everyone wipes their leaves but she likes to, to be sure they don't have any residual bugs or anything like that on them.

Cutting the ojas

Wipe those leaves!

After that, be sure to protect your table with newspapers or old towels/tablecloths since you're working with achiote which stains.  Also, its time to find your pasteles paper.  When you don't have many leaves to fully wrap the pasteles, you can use this paper.

Ready to make pasteles!

Pasteles paper

Now, let's watch Mama teach us how to actually construct a pastele...note that the small bowl of orange stuff she's using on the leaf is the manteca con achiote.  In this video she also explains that most times folks just use the leaves to make the pasteles but she prefers to also use paper because she feels it protects the pasteles when they cook.

Now that the pasteles are complete and folded, its time to tie them.  I have to tell you guys, I reenacted every step of this process today and folding that paper is by far the hardest part for me!!

Once pasteles have been constructed, folded and tied, its time to boil them!  But, you only boil them if you want to eat them right then and there.  If not, you can freeze them and when you're ready to eat, you boil.  Instructions for boiling are as follows:  fill a pot up with salt water and let it come to a boil, then insert pasteles.  If the pastele is fresh, let boil for a half hour...if frozen, it should boil for about 45 minutes.  Once it's ready, cut the string, unwrap and enjoy!

Remove from water

Unwrap

Mmmm mmmm good!

So as Mama and I sat, enjoying the fruits of our labor, I asked her "How did you learn how to cook?"  She said, "Well, I had three sons I had to provide for."  I was a bit confused and figured I didn't ask the question correctly in Spanish.  So, I reworded it, "No, Mama did you help your mother cook in the house?"  She responded "Oh, of course!  Remember I was the oldest of the girls.  I don't know why she waited until I was 14 to teach me anything, but she did."  Then, remembering that she left the house at 18 years old for New York, I asked "What about when you went to live with your aunt, were you in charge of cooking for them?"  She said "No, I was busy working...it wasn't until I became a wife and had children that I really had to cook.  Once the father of your father left, I had to start cooking for other people.  Sometimes I was feeding up to ten people....it was me and my boys, which was four, and three couples I would cook for."  I wasn't really following at this point, I thought she meant she was cooking for these people because for whatever reason she was looking out for them, so I asked "Wait, why were you cooking for all those people?" She just stared at me and said "For money!  I had three kids I had to care for.  I would come home from work and then start cooking because..."  "...because they were couples that would pay you to cook for them?!"  "Yes.  I would plan out all my meals for the week to make it easier on myself.  Then, during baseball season I would make bacalaitos and sell them in the park on weekends."  This woman never seizes to amaze me. "Mama, you would take the kids with you to sell food?" She stares at me again "Of course!  Where was I going to leave them?  We would go to Crotona Park and I would sell bacalaitos.  I had to pay the bills.  I'm telling you, you have no idea..."

Delish!

She's a mother, a wife, a hustler, a chef...a survivor.  She is teaching me so much about life, about struggle, about experiences and about the blood that runs through my veins.  I thank God that both she and I were able to finally come together for these very moments.