Pasteles are tradional fare for the holidays, 
especially Thanksgiving.  They are quite a bit
of work, which is why they are ususally made
by the entire family working together.
However, the use of a food processor and food
grinder make the task easier today.

Filling: 
2 pounds boneless lean pork meat 
6 tablespoons sour orange juice 
Crush and mix: 
4 sweet chili peppers,w/o seeds 
2 large cloves garlic, peeled 
2 tbsp whole dried oregano 
1 tbsp salt 
4 fresh cilantro leaves 
Cut into cubes 1 lb lean cured ham 
1 green pepper, seeded 
1 onion, peeled 
1 can garbanzos, inc. liquid =1 cup water 
24 green olives, stuffed with pimentos, 
1 1/2 tbsp capers 
6 tbsp Achiote 

Wash and dry pork meat. 
Cut into very small cubes. 
Mix meat with sour orange juice. 
Add the crushed chili peppers, 
garlic, oregano, cilantro leaves and salt. 
Add also ham, onion and green pepper. 
In a sauacepan, 
bring to a boil everything 
including garbanzos, 
and water. 
Drain the liquid over the meat mixture . 
Remove skins from chickpeas 
and add chickpeas to the meat mixture. 
Add olives and capers. 
Add ingredients all together, 
mix well, cover and set in refrigerator 
until the masa is ready. 

MASA 
4 lbs white yautia, peeled 
4 lbs yellow yautia, peeled 
15 green bananas , 
peeled and rinsed in salted water 
2 cups lukewarm milk 
1 1/4 cups(10 oz) Achiote 
2 1/2 tbsp salt 

Wash, drain, grate the yautias and bananas. 
Crush gradually the yautias and bananas. 
Mix in a bowl with lukewarm milk 
to make a smooth masa paste. 
Add the achiote and salt, mix well , 
cover and set aside. 
Use twenty bundles of plantain leaves. 
They should be long and wide. 
With a knife, remove the central ridge 
to give greater flexibility to the leaves. 
Divide leaves into pieces,
about 12 inches square. 
Wash and clean leaves with a damp cloth 
Place 3 tbsp of the masa on a leaf 
and spread it out thinly, 
place 3 tbsp of the filling 
in the center of the masa 
Fold the leaf one half over the other 
to make a top and bottom layer of plantain leaf 
and enclose the contents in it. 
Fold it once more. 
Fold the right and left ends of the leaf 
toward the center. 
Tie the pasteles together in pairs, 
with a string, 
placing folded edges facing each other. 
In Large pot, bring to a boil 5 qts of water 
with 3 1/2 tbsps salt. 
Add 12 pasteles and boil, covered, 
for one hour. 
Halfway, turn over pasteles. 
After the hour, remove pasteles 
from the water at once. 
Repeat for the rest of the pasteles. 

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