Pasteles in Hartford: What They Are and How to Order

Pasteles are Puerto Rican parcels of grated green banana and plantain masa around a stewed filling, wrapped in banana leaf and boiled or steamed. Hartford has a large Puerto Rican community, and the dish belongs to the holidays. Here is what goes in a pastel, why families make them and how to order well in the city.

The ingredients, the holiday tradition and a good way to ask about a dish that varies from kitchen to kitchen are all worth knowing.

What are pasteles, and what is in the green banana masa?

Wikipedia says the Puerto Rican masa is usually made from grated green banana, green plantain, white yautia, potato and calabaza, a tropical pumpkin, seasoned with meat-stew liquid, annatto oil and sometimes milk. A variant called pasteles de yuca replaces the green bananas with cassava. The result is a soft, slightly sticky dough with a savory, gentle flavor, not a sweet one.

The filling is usually a meat stew, often pork shoulder, ham or bacon, with raisins, chickpeas, pimiento, olives and capers, and seasonings such as recaito, adobo and annatto oil. Other fillings exist, including vegetables, poultry and fish. Because the recipe belongs to each household, two kitchens can make quite different versions.

How does the banana leaf work, and how is a pastel cooked?

A banana leaf is heated over a flame to make it pliable, brushed with annatto oil, topped with masa and filling, then folded and tied into packets, according to Wikipedia. Some cooks use foil instead. The packets are boiled or steamed, and they can also be barbecued or frozen. When you unwrap one, take care: it is hot, and the leaf is not meant to be eaten.

Many people eat them with hot sauce on the side, and some households add a chili sauce to the filling. Wikipedia notes that a chili was traditionally placed at one end and that many households now use a sauce instead.

Why is the pastel part of Puerto Rican Christmas?

Plate APR, a Puerto Rican food publication, calls the pastel a central dish from Christmas Eve through Three Kings Day. It explains that because pasteles take so long and so much effort to make, giving one was a meaningful gesture of affection, and that each family often has its own recipe. Wikipedia adds that families often make 50 to 200 or more at once, which is why many people now buy them from neighbors or cooks rather than make their own.

Plate APR also notes that the origin is unclear: the first written recipe it knows of dates to 1931, but a historian has found mentions in three nineteenth-century Puerto Rican literary texts. Treat any single date for the dish with caution.

How do you order and judge a pastel in Hartford?

Ask what is inside, what the masa is made from and whether it holds pork, chicken or vegetables. Ask whether it is made fresh or from the freezer, since frozen ones are common. A good pastel holds together when you unwrap it, tastes of its filling and the annatto, and has a smooth, tender masa that is neither mushy nor dry, which is the first thing to judge.

The filling should be moist, not oily. Look for the sweet-salty balance that raisins, olives and capers give a pork filling, and notice whether the sauce on the side lifts the dish or overwhelms it. If you are comparing, order the same type at each place, and write a short note on the masa first.

Our guide to the Puerto Rican heritage of Hartford, the Park Street guide, and the pork-free eating guide explains what to ask if you avoid pork.

What should you ask about ingredients?

A pastel often contains pork, and its masa may be made with meat-stew liquid, annatto oil and sometimes milk. Chickpeas, olives and capers appear in many fillings. Wikipedia notes that pickled and sauced fillings vary by household, so check ingredients if you have dietary restrictions. Say the need first, ask how the pastel is made and treat the answer as that day's information.

How can Mosey help you remember a pastel?

Open the Mosey app after you eat, rate the pastel as a dish and name the filling in your note. A tag and a photo are optional, and only the place and the stars are required. If you shared one, tag your companion and they can add their own rating of the same dish.

Start a list called Holiday pasteles and share the invite link with a family member, even one who has not joined Mosey. Follow friends to see what they rated and saved. The ratings page explains rating by the dish and the lists page explains shared lists.

Mosey is a food app for rating dishes, keeping lists and sharing them with the people you eat with. Listing costs a small kitchen nothing, and there are no hidden fees.

Where else can you read about Hartford?

For a wider view, see the West Hartford guide and the Parkville food hall guide. To plan a visit, read how to find good food in Hartford. See the Hartford page, the Connecticut page and the US food guides.

At your next Hartford meal, get the Mosey app, rate the pastel by name and add it to a list.