Little Packets of Holiday Joy

Widely sold by street vendors at Christmastime, pastelles are also made at home as a must-have part of the holiday meal and they are most similar to a tamale. Pastelles are traditionally wrapped in a leaf similar to a banana leaf, or a banana leaf itself, and boiled or steamed. However, heavy duty plastic wrap works well too.

Truth must be told, however, pastelles are not easy to make. Get together an assembly line of family and friends if you can and make a part of it--sort of like a tamalada party. Pepper sauce is a good condiment for these.

Vegetarians will find that ground, cooked chickpeas in place of ground meat work very well in this recipe too.



Karen Felician’s Pastelle
Makes about 24

Karen Felician of Maraval serves this traditional pastelle on Christmas Eve. She uses a homemade Green Seasoning made from the local herbs that have made the Paramin region from which her husband Carlos hails, famous.

For dough:

2 cups masa cornmeal
3 cups hot water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
banana or soharee leaves cut into 8 inch squares

For filling:

2 tablespoons canola oil
1 small onion, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, mined finely
2 pound ground beef
2 tablespoons Green Seasoning
1/2 scotch bonnet pepper, stemmed, seeded and chopped fine
1/2 pimento pepper, stemmed, seeded and chopped fine or 1 teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
3 tablespoons capers
1/2 cup raisins

Make dough by combining cornmeal, water and oil. Mix until the dough comes together in a ball. Set aside.
If using banana leaves, scald in boiling salted water until malleable. Remove, cool and set aside.
Heat oil in a large skillet and onion. Cook until translucent then add garlic and cook for 1 minute more.
Add ground beef and mix well, using fork to break up chunks of meat. Brown meat then add Green Seasoning, peppers, salt and black pepper, Worcestershire sauce, capers, and raisins.
Cook for 2-3 minutes more then remove from heat and cool.
Scoop heaping tablespoons of cornmeal and place on top of a leaf square or square of plastic. Place a sheet of plastic on top of the cornmeal and, using a rolling pin, roll out to the edges of the leaf square, leaving about 1/2 inch on all sides.
Remove plastic wrap and place a heaping tablespoon of meat mixture on one side of the cornmeal square. Fold the side of the leaf that contains the cornmeal without the meat up and onto the filled side of the square. Fold sides of cornmeal square forward as well. Gently pat down all edges.
Fold leaf or plastic over pastelle as though gift-wrapping a present. Tie with twine.
Place a steamer basket or colander in a large pot halfway filled with hot water. Do not let water seep into the colander or steamer. Put a single layer of pastelles in the steaming utensil and cover pot. Steam for 20-25 minutes. Repeat until all pastelles are cooked.



Paramin Green Seasoning
Makes 1 cup

The area of Paramin, perched breathtakingly high atop the mountains of Trinidad’s Northern Range is the herb basket of the country. The steely sloped hillsides and cool mountain air, make the region ideal for growing green herbs like shado beni, chives, thyme and parsley. The Creole-descent farmers who cultivate these seasoning plants are the go-to guys for every Trinidadian cook, since their spices are an absolute necessity for the local pantry. The addition of shallots, onions and vinegar and omission of oregano makes it a bit different from standard green seasoning.

4 large shallots, peeled, and coarsely chopped
1 bunch chives, minced (about 1 cup)
1 small bunch fresh thyme, (about 1/4 cup)
1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons shado beni or cilantro, mined
1 medium onion, peeled, and coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons white vinegar
water as needed

Place all ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and pure, adding water as needed to achieve a smooth, somewhat liquid paste.