I grew up eating Picadillo and plantains. My version of Picadillo is savory, with just a little bit of sweet from the raisins. Of course, Picadillo was always served with black beans and rice, and a side of maduros (fried, ripe plantains) or platanos (fried green plantains). Except for the black beans and rice, this was a pretty paleo meal. After recently making paleo pastelon for the first time, I realized I’d been eating the Cuban version of that Puerto Rican dish my whole life, only with the pieces separated. So I decided to try to make what I suppose would be a Cuban, paleo-friendly version of pastelon. Try it! You’ll love it!

Paleo Cuban-Style Pastelon

Print Recipe

• CourseMain Dish
• CuisineCuban

Servings

12

Servings 12

Paleo Cuban-Style Pastelon Print Recipe CourseMain Dish CuisineCuban Servings 12 Servings 12

Ingredients

• 2 pounds ground beef preferably grass-fed
• 8 plantains ripe
• 1 white onion
• 2 green peppers
• 15 oz tomato sauce
• 10 oz green olives pimento stuffed
• 1 cup raisins
• 2 tsp cumin
• 8 cloves garlic minced
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 6 eggs large
• 1 cup coconut milk
• coconut oil as needed

Servings:

Instructions

1. Brown the ground beef in a large pot. I usually use a 12-quart stockpot for picadillo, because anything smaller tends to become too full to mix all of the ingredients without making a mess.
2. While the beef is browning, dice the onion and green peppers.
3. Once the beef is browned, you may drain it if desired. I usually leave the fat in because I get grass-fed beef, and it does add to the flavor.
4. Add the diced onions, green peppers, tomato sauce, olives (drained; you don’t need the brine), raisins, cumin, garlic, pepper, salt, oregano, and vinegar to the pot of ground beef and mix well. You now have picadillo!

   
5. Allow the picadillo to simmer for at least 15 minutes.
6. Peel and slice the plantains. With traditional Puerto Rican pastelon, you’re supposed to slice in thin lasagna noodle-like strips. I’m doing this the Cuban way, so slice on an angle.

   
7. Heat a couple of tablespoons of coconut oil in a large skillet until hot enough to fry a plantain (it should sizzle a bit if you add a few drops of water).
8. Fry all of the plantain slices until they are golden brown. This could take a while!
9. While the plantains are frying, pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
10. Grease the bottom and sides of a glass 9×13 baking dish with coconut oil.
11. Add a layer of fried plantain slices to the baking dish.

    
12. Top the plantain layer with about half of the picadillo.

    
13. Now add another layer of plantains. I spread this layer out a bit more than the first layer, and made sure to keep a few slices (12-14) for the top.

    
14. Now add the rest of the picadillo to the baking dish.
15. Crack the eggs into a medium bowl, and whisk in the coconut milk. Stir until thoroughly mixed.

    
16. Pour the egg + coconut milk mixture over the picadillo and plantain layers.

    
17. Now add the remaining fried plantains as a final layer. I usually cut this up into 12 pieces, and use the remaining plantains to mark each piece.

    
18. Bake for 25-35 minutes, until the egg and coconut mixture is cooked thoroughly.
19. Allow to cool for a few minutes, and then slice into 12 pieces.

    
20. Grab your slice and enjoy!

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