PASTELN:Welcome to the first episode of Criollo Kitchen with Csar Prez! In Criollo Kitchen, Food52 Test Kitchen Chef and Recipe Developer, Csar Prez, explores the creole flavors of Puerto Rico and the surrounding Latin Caribbean through a New York City lens."The ever versatile plantain strikes again. Pasteln has a fuzzy history, and like many other dishes from Puerto Rico and the surrounding region, there are many opinions on what constitutes a proper pasteln. But, whatever you do, do not call this a Puerto Rican (or Dominican) lasagna! I've heard throughout the years that pasteln originally never had cheese until Puerto Ricans were influenced by Italian- Americans in NYC, which resulted in the lasagna-adjacent dish we have today.Some may even say that this isn't a pasteln at all, but actually a pinwhich I'd have to disagree with, since pin typically has green beans thrown into the equation. However you approach it, the important thing is the contrast of the sweet plantains against a savory and saucy meat filling, supported by lots of melty cheese. In this version, diced ham and ground pork bring the typically just-ground beef filling to another level." ~Csar PrezCHAPTERS: 00:00 - Introduction00:15 - Let's Talk Plantains03:15 - The Filling04:50 - Homemade Adobo05:33 - Back to the Picadillo08:18 - Let's Assemble!10:20 - Taste TestGET THE RECIPE:Pasteln: https://f52.co/48xEGsYPRODUCTS FEATURED IN THIS VIDEO:Smithey Cast Iron Skillet: https://f52.co/44w1dn2Staub Cast Iron Pan: https://f52.co/3U0L8E2MORE FROM FOOD52:Subscribe here to our YouTube Channel! https://f52.co/2HN7Dp8GET MORE OF FOOD52 BY CONNECTING BELOW:Website: https://food52.comOur Shop: https://food52.com/shop Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/food52Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Food52Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/food52Twitter: https://twitter.com/Food52TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@food52Food52 newsletter: https://f52.co/newsletter