Pastelón (Puerto Rican Sweet Plantain and Picadillo Casserole)

Name: Pastelón (Puerto Rican Sweet Plantain and Picadillo Casserole)
Yield: Serves 6 to 8
Ingredients: ¾ cup, fresh cilantro leaves and stems; 1 small, Cubanelle pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped coarse; ½ , onion, quartered; ¼ cup fresh, culantro, chopped coarse; 2 tablespoons, vegetable oil; 3 , garlic cloves, peeled; 3–3½ pounds very ripe, plantains, peeled; ¾ cup, vegetable oil for frying; ½ teaspoon plus pinch, table salt, divided; 1 pound 90 percent lean, ground beef; 2½ teaspoons, sazón; 2 teaspoons, distilled white vinegar; 1 , (8-ounce) can tomato sauce; 2 tablespoons, pitted alcaparrado; 2 , large eggs; 4 ounces, Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (1 cup)

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Appears in Cook's Illustrated September/October 2021

SERVES6 to 8

TIME1½ hours

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WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

This plush, meaty Puerto Rican casserole is a savory-sweet mash-up of two island staples—plátanos maduros fritos (fried ripe plantains) and the briny, sofrito-laced filling called picadillo. For appropriately sweet, velvety-soft plantains, ...

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