Pasteles — Puerto Rican-Hawaiian

Ingredients

• For the masa
• 6 green bananas, peeled, finely grated
• 500 g taro root, peeled, finely grated
• 60 ml achiote oil, annatto seeds steeped in neutral oil
• 1 tsp salt
• For the filling
• 600 g pork shoulder, cut into small dice
• 120 ml sofrito, recao, ají dulce, onion, garlic, tomato — blended
• 2 tbsp achiote oil
• 60 g green olives, pitted, roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp capers, rinsed
• 1 tsp salt, or to taste
• For wrapping and boiling
• 12 banana leaf squares, approximately 30 × 35 cm, wiped clean and softened briefly over flame
• 12 parchment paper squares, same size as banana leaves, used as outer wrap
• as needed kitchen twine, cut into lengths for tying parcels
• 4 litres water, well salted

Method

1. 1
   Prepare the filling first. Heat achiote oil in a heavy pan over medium heat. Add the diced pork and sear until the surfaces lose their raw colour. Add sofrito, olives, and capers. Cook, stirring periodically, until the pork is cooked through and the sofrito has reduced and clings to the meat — the mixture should be fragrant and hold together rather than pool with liquid. Season with salt. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely before filling.
2. 2
   Make the masa. Peel the green bananas and grate them on the finest plane of a box grater or through a food mill; do the same with the peeled taro. Work quickly — green banana oxidises on contact with air. Combine both gratings in a bowl, add the achiote oil and salt, and work the mixture with the hands until it coheres into a dense, slightly sticky mass. This is where the dish lives or dies: only thorough, fine grating of both green banana and taro produces a masa with sufficient starch to bind during boiling — any coarseness will result in a masa that falls apart in the pot.
3. 3
   Soften the banana leaves by passing each one briefly over an open flame or a hot dry pan; they will turn from matte to slightly glossy and become pliable without splitting. Lay a leaf square on a flat surface, shiny side up, and place a parchment square beneath it.
4. 4
   Spread roughly 80–90 g of masa onto the centre of each banana leaf in an even rectangle, leaving a border of at least 5 cm on all sides. Place 2–3 tablespoons of cooled filling in the centre of the masa rectangle. Fold the long sides of the leaf over so the masa fully encloses the filling, then fold in the short ends to form a sealed parcel. Wrap the parchment around the outside and tie firmly with twine in both directions. The parcel should feel compact and taut — no gaps through which water can enter.
5. 5
   Bring the salted water to a full rolling boil in a large pot. Lower the pasteles in, ensuring they are fully submerged; weigh down with a plate if needed. Boil for 45 minutes to 1 hour. The pasteles are done when the parcel feels firm and set rather than yielding when pressed through the leaf — the masa will have contracted slightly away from the leaf.
6. 6
   Remove from the water and allow to rest for 5 minutes before untying. Unwrap at the table: the banana leaf will release a clean, green, slightly smoky aroma, and the masa should be dense, cohesive, and hold its rectangular form. The surface facing the leaf will carry the faint imprint of the leaf's veins.