Pasteles

Pasteles(Spanish pronunciation:[pasˈteles]; singularpastel), alsopastellesin the English-speaking Caribbean, are a traditional dish in several Latin American and Caribbean countries. InPuerto Rico, theDominican Republic,Venezuela,Panama,Trinidad and Tobago, and theCaribbeancoast ofColombia, the dish looks like atamal. In Hawaii, they are calledpatelesin a phonetic rendering of the Puerto Rican pronunciation ofpasteles, as discussed below.
Related toalcapurria,tamales,hallacas, andguanimes, pasteles were originally made by the indigenous people of Boriquen (Puerto Rico).Tainosmade masa from cassava, yautía and squash. The masa was then filled with beans, fruit, chilies, corn, nuts, meat, fish and wrapped in corn husk.
Puerto Rico has turned pasteles making into an arthaving hundreds of recipes and an annual pastel festival (Festival Nacional del Pastel Puertorriqueño)on the island.
In Puerto Rico, pasteles are a cherished culinary recipe, especially around Christmas-time. The masa consists of typically gratedgreen banana,green plantain, whiteyautía, potato, and tropical pumpkins known ascalabazas. It is seasoned with liquid from the meat mixture, milk, andannatto oil.The meat is prepared as astewand usually contains any combination ofBoston butt, ham, bacon, raisins, chickpeas, sliced pickledpimientopeppers, olives and capers, and is commonly seasoned with bay leaves,recaito, tomato sauce,adobo seco, and annatto oil, but the seasoning is not limited to these nor are root vegetables. Filling can range from vegetables, poultry, fish,sausage, andgame meat.
Traditionally masa was flavored breadcrumbs and butter, almonds were added to the filling and a chili would be tucked on one end of every pastel. The chili in most homes is eliminated and is replaced withajilimójili,Pique sauce, or ketchup mixed with chili.
Assembling a typical pastel involves a large sheet of parchment paper, a strip of banana leaf that has been heated over an open flame to make it supple, and a little annatto oil on the leaf. The masa is then placed on banana leaf and stuffed with the meat mixture. The paper is then folded and tied with kitchen string to form packets. Some people use aluminum foil instead of parchment and string. Parchment paper is only applied if the pastel is boiled or steamed. Once made, pasteles can either be cooked in boiling water,steamed,barbecued(smoked or slow grilling), or frozen for later use. Because they are so labor-intensive, families often make anywhere from 50 to 200 or more at a time, especially around the holiday season.
Pasteles de yucais one of many recipes in Puerto Rico that are popular around the island and in Latin America. The masa is made withcassava, other root vegetables, plantains, and squash. The recipe calls for cassava to replace the green bananas of the traditionalpasteles de masa. Cassava is grated and squeezed through a cheesecloth removing most of its liquid. Broth, milk, butter, annatto oil is added to the masa and is typically filled with shredded chicken and other ingredients.
According to Carmen Aboy Valldejuli, the original name for a Puerto Rican Pastel wasMamie. Although calling them mamies has lost use in recent generations it is still the official name in Carmen Aboy Valldejuli's bookCocina Criolla(the Puerto Rican "culinary bible").
Colombian pasteles are calledpastel de arroz(rice pasteles) and are more of a tamale than a typical pastel. They are made fromricethat is seasoned and left out in the sun; a process referred to asorear(to air). The rice is then mixed with many ingredients.Pickled vegetables,chorizo,pork,chickpeas,olives, andpotatoesare the most common. Chicken and beef are also used. Colombian pasteles are wrapped twice, once with acabbageleaf, and again with a banana leaf.  This is the typical meal of the Nochebuena Dinner (Christmas Eve), in the Caribbean Coast Region of Colombiasince their humble beginnings. It is often confused with the tamal from the Andean region, which is made up with corn.
In the Dominican Republic pasteles are a Christmas tradition, adopted from Puerto Rico. The masa is identical to Puerto Rican masa but replaces milk and broth withsour orangejuice. They are filled with ground chicken or beef, and the option of raisins. The meat is sautéed with garlic, bell peppers, onions, cilantro, tomato sauce andlippia(Caribbean oregano). Sour orange juice has slowly lots its way into Dominican pasteles and has been more Puerto Rican usingadobo seco, milk, broth, and annatto oil to season masa.
A Dominican cookbook in 1938 is the first to print recipes on pasteles.The cookbook printed two recipes, titledpasteles Puertorriqueñoandpasteles Dominicano. The only difference is the inclusion of cassava in the recipe for Dominican pasteles which currently is not included. Adding cassava was a way to differentiate from Puerto Rican pasteles. Over time Dominicans changed the name topasteles de hojaand have their own filling and way on seasoning the masa that makes it uniquely Dominican. Some date indicates that at the beginning of the 20th century pasteles made its way from Puerto Rico toSan Cristobal, Dominican Republic.
Although the first recipes appear in a Dominican cookbook, pasteles were first written about inaguinaldo Puertorriqueñoin 1843 about Puerto Rican Christmas traditions.This book most likely exposed pasteles to the Dominican Republic or where brought over by Dominicans from Puerto Rico or brought over by Puerto Ricans after aSan Ciriaco hurricanein 1899 that devastated the island.
The common name for this food inHawaii,pateles, is most likely borrowed fromCaribbean Spanish, which featuresweakening or loss of /s/at the end of syllables: the pronunciation of pasteles as "pateles" occurs in Puerto Rican dialects, for instance. Over 5000Puerto Ricans migrated to Hawaiiat the dawn of the 20th century to work in sugar plantations. The singular of pasteles,pastel(often pronouncedpatel), has been constructed throughback-formation. Other variations of this dish includepastele de olla y misturaor "pastele stew",pastele de olla, andpastel al horno.
Trinidadianpastelles are small meat-filled cornmeal pies stuffed with meat, fish or vegetables seasoned with fresh herbs and flavored with raisins, olives and capers wrapped and steamed in a banana leaf. They are traditionally prepared and eaten during the Christmas season. It is believed that they were introduced by Spanish colonizers who ruled between the late 15th and early 18th centuries.
They exist in some form or another throughout Latin America and are more commonly known in Venezuela as hallacas (pronouncedhayacas).  The origins of pastelles are unclear.One viewis that Spanish colonists who settled in the region made them as a substitute for one of their favorite delicacies – empanada gallega.Empanada gallega and pasteles both have heavily spiced meaty fillings but pastelles are made with cornmeal while the empanada is more like a typical pastry as it is made with white flour. Another viewis that the dish, because it uses corn and is wrapped in banana leaves, is a derivative of themesoamericantamale.
A sweet version is calledpaimeand is also a Christmas dish. It contains no filling, but the dough itself contains ground coconut and raisins.