Pastelón de Harina de Maíz (Cornmeal and Beef Casserole)

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Pastelón de Harina de Maíz (Cornmeal and Beef Casserole)

Pastelón de Harina de Maíz (Cornmeal and Beef Casserole) is a traditional Dominican (from the Dominican Republic) recipe for a classic dish of a maize meal paste baked with a minced beef filling. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Dominican Republic version of: Cornmeal and Beef Casserole (Pastelón de Harina de Maíz).

prep time

30 minutes

cook time

60 minutes

Total Time:

90 minutes

Serves:

Rating:

Tags : Beef Recipes Milk Recipes Cheese Recipes Baking Recipes Dominican-republic Recipes

A pastelón is a dish of meat (typically beef) mixture sandwiched between a carbohydrate staple (maize meal in this example) that's oven baked to cook.

Ingredients:

1l tomato sauce, (leave it chunky, and season with salt and pepper to taste)

For the Filling:
1 batch beef picadillo (for the filling)

For the Cornmeal layers and assembly:
300g cornmeal, (polenta can also be used)
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1½ tsp salt (or to taste)
2 tbsp olive oil, Extra oil for greasing the pan
80g raisins, (optional)
110g grated cheddar cheese, (or mozzarella, or a mix of both

Method:

In a large bowl, mix together the cornmeal, 1.5l water, sugar, salt, and olive oil. Set aside to soak for an hour.

Pour into a saucepan, place over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly. When the ingredients come to a boil, reduce the heat and continue cooking, stirring, until the mixture has the consistency of cream cheese and starts coming away from the sides of the heat. Take off the heat at this point.

Pre-heat your oven to 145ºC. Grease a 23 x 23 x 9cm baking pan and set aside.

Spread ½ of the cornmeal mixture in the baking pan. Cover it with ½ of the cheese, then the meat. Spread the remaining cornmeal mixture and cover with the other half of the cheese. Transfer to the centre of your pre-heated oven and bake until it turns golden brown (about 20 minutes).

Remove from the oven and set aside to cool for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with the tomato sauce and serve with green salad (baby arugula with an olive oil vinaigrette is perfect for this).