Country:
Ingredients:
- 6 ripe plantains (the more black streaks, the better, according to my mom, so don’t get too freaked out!)
- Cooking oil to fry the plantains
- 1 lb. of ground meat
- 3 tablespoons of Goya sofrito (I get the Goya 14 oz. container in the frozen foods section at Market Basket)
- 4 oz. of Goya “Spanish style” tomato sauce (1 can is 8 oz.; available at MB)
- 2-3 oz. stuffed Manzanilla olives (use the whole ones with the red pimentos inside, don’t get the presliced ones)
- 1-2 cloves of garlic
- Cilantro, about the same amount as the garlic (I also use the Dorot frozen cubes)
- 1 teaspoon of Adobo seasoning or garlic salt
- 1 block of part-skim mozzarella cheese (you’ll slice it yourself)
Instructions:
Plantains
- Peel and slice the plantains lengthwise – don’t want them too thick, as they’ll take longer to cook
- Put enough cooking oil in the skillet to coat the bottom and a little more (my mom says the plantain slices shouldn’t be swimming!)
- Fry all the plantains to a golden amber color, flipping as needed so that they don’t get burned, dry on paper towels as they come off the pan
Meat Filling (also referred to as picadillo)
- Brown the meat, draining the fat as needed
- Stir in the sofrito, tomato sauce, garlic, cilantro, olives (you can either use them whole or slice them ahead of time, your choice), and Adobo/garlic salt, and simmer on medium heat for about 3 minutes
Assembly and Baking
Use a lasagna Pyrex bakeware pan (9 x 13 or 10 x 15) as follows:
- First, line bottom with a layer of plantains
- Then add layer of sliced mozzarella cheese
- Next layer the meat
- Add a top layer of plantains (If you have extra plantains left over, eat them as appetizers!)
- Top with another layer of sliced mozzarella
- Cover the piñón with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, basically to melt the cheese and reheat the meat.
- You might consider making the meat first, set it aside (or refrigerate), then prepare the plantains, which is the time consuming part!
Allergy Information:
Submitted by:
Ismael E. Carreras
Chief Data Strategist
Academic Affairs & Economic Development
Personal Story
This is a classic recipe in Puerto Rico and my mom introduced this to me in early adulthood. My non-Puerto Rican wife loves piñón and we enjoy making it together. I usually prepare the meat filling, she handles the plantain frying and we assemble it together, since it is fairly laborious to make.
In recent years, however, we've opted to make the "Shepherd's Pie" version where the plantains are boiled and mashed. This variation is called pastelón and it is just as delicious.
Keep in mind, however, that some Puerto Ricans refer to the lasagna version as "pastelón" but according to most Puerto Rican cookbooks, that is incorrect; piñón is when you fry the plantains, pastelón is where you boil them.