Puerto Rican Pastelón with Turkey Picadillo

Photo: Jonbuck9 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Puerto Rico's sweet-and-savory 'lasagna': layers of fried ripe plantains and a sofrito turkey picadillo with olives, set with egg and baked under melted cheese. Classic versions use ground beef.

Ingredients

• 6 very ripe plantains (mostly black)
• 1½ lb ground turkey
• ½ onion
• 1 green bell pepper (or cubanelle)
• ½ bunch cilantro
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
• ¼ cup pimento-stuffed olives, chopped
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella

From your pantry: ½ cup oil for frying, 2 tsp white vinegar, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp dried oregano, salt, pepper.

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 400°F. Pulse the onion, green pepper, cilantro and garlic in a food processor into a coarse sofrito.
2. Peel the plantains, halve them crosswise and cut each half lengthwise into 3 strips. Fry in batches in the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until deep golden, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels.
3. Pour off all but 1 tbsp oil. Brown the turkey over medium-high, breaking it up, about 6 minutes. Add the spices, 1 tsp salt and the vinegar, then the sofrito, and cook until the onion softens, 3 minutes.
4. Stir in the tomato sauce and olives and simmer until the sauce clings to the meat, about 5 minutes.
5. Lay half the plantains in a greased 9x13 dish. Whisk the eggs with a pinch of salt and pour over them, spread on the picadillo, top with the rest of the plantains and scatter with the cheese.
6. Bake until the cheese is bubbling and browned in spots, 20 to 25 minutes. Rest 10 minutes before cutting into squares.

Tip: The plantains must be very ripe and sweet; buy them yellow a few days ahead and let them blacken in a paper bag. Goya sazón can replace the spice mix (use 2 packets).

Nutrition per serving

Good for

Adapted from America's Test Kitchen.

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