A classic Puerto Rican holiday dish, this authentic recipe features the classic masa mixture that results in super tender pasteles.
Cube up the chicken or pork into small cubes, about 1-2 inches in size. Season the meat with adobo, sazon, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning. Drizzle one teaspoon of olive oil over the meat, then stir up the mixture to get everything well coated with the spices.
Add the remaining two teaspoons of olive oil to a sauce pan, and heat to medium heat. Once the oil is warm, add in the sofrito and stir for 30 seconds. Add the meat, bay leaves and tomato paste. Stir the mixture to combine. Add in the olives, chicken bouillon cube and chicken broth. Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for one hour. Cool in the refrigerator before filling the pasteles.
Using the fine shredder blade on your food processor or a manual grater, grate the plantain, green bananas, yautia, and pumpkin. Depending on the size of your food processor you may have to work in batches. Change out the shredder blade for the chopping blade. Working in batches process the shredded vegetables until they form a finely-grained paste. Add remaining masa ingredients and mix until well combined. Mix the sazon oil into the masa thoroughly. Transfer to a bowl, cover and refrigerate.
Drain the cooked pasteles, cut the strings, and unwrap to enjoy. Serve hot.
Want to make a vegetarian version? Use chickpeas (garbanzos) in place of the chicken or pork.