My Pastelles

1. Ingredients
1. Meat Filling
• Promasa
• 3 pounds of meat per 1 and a half pack of promasa (2 pounds of meat will fill 1 pack of promasa)(1 pack of promasa makes roughly 40 balls)(total yield should be approx. 40 pastelles per pack of promasa)
• 2 Pounds Ground Pork
• 1 Pound Ground beef
• half lb of normal seedless Black Raisins
• 1 16oz bottle Capers
• 1 21oz bottle of Pimento Stuffed Olives (Lindsay Olives without pits and no stuffing worked just fine)
• 100 Banana Leaves - 12-inch x 12-inch leaf per ball is required, some extra in case leaves break
• When cutting leaves, a single actual leaf will provide 8-10 leaves when cut up
• 5 full leaves should provide enough leaves for 1 pack of promasa
• 1 Roll  Aluminum Foil 
• 1 Roll Cling Wrap
• 1 Ball Twine to tie
• 4 bunches of Fine Thyme
• 4 large bunches Normal Thyme (Oregano)
• 12 bunches Chives
• 20 leaves of Spanish Thyme 
• 10 Pimento Peppers
• 3 Onions
• 2 Hot Pepper
• 4 Head of Garlic
• 1 stick Butter (454g bar)
• Cornstarch
• Vegetable Oil
• Freezer Bags
2. Special Utensils
1. Pastell Press
2. Large pots to hold 3lbs of meat
3. Food Processor
4. Meat Grinder if not using ground meat
3. Instructions
1. Prepare Seasonings
1. Grind each seasoning separately and store separately
1. We will be evenly distributing all seasonings across all meat during cooking
2. Slice olives into thin O's (about 6-8 per olive)
2. Prepare Leaves
1. Cut Banana leaves from tree (not old hard split leaves, use young, or medium pliable whole leaves)
2. Slit leaves off of center stem, keep leaves as large as possible
3. Wipe to remove any large debris
4. Singe each leaf to melt wax and sanitize by passing slowly over fire (gas burner works well)
5. Wipe each leaf to remove any residue
6. Roll leaves in large roll to prevent breaking and splitting
7. Can store in freezer until needed
3. Create Meat Filling
1. Buy ground Pork, do nothing to it
2. Buy ground Beef, do nothing with it
4. Cook Meat Filling - add small amount of oil to pot to prevent sticking
1. Cook pork first to grease the pot, medium heat, no seasoning (Add seasoning as you go along during cooking, otherwise the meat takes too long to cook)
1. Add 1 tsp salt and pepper liberally to taste
2. Add 4 bunches of fine thyme (each bunch is about 5 strands)
3. Cook until the liquid boils down and only a small amount remains - the meat should be moist, but not watery, it should only have a small amount of liquid on the bottom of the pot
4. Keep turning meat until it becomes light brown, and has almost no water left
5. Taste meat, add salt to taste
6. After the meat dries down, add ground seasonings - 15 mins
1. Add 4 tblsp Garlic to taste
2. Add 4 tblsp Garlic to taste
3. Add 4 tblsp Normal Thyme to taste
4. Add 4 tblsp Spanish Thyme to taste
5. Taste meat, add salt and more garlic,thyme,spanish thyme, fine thyme to taste
7. Allow to cook down some more - 5 mins
1. Add 4 tblsp Pimentoes to taste
2. Add 4 tblsp Pimentoes to taste
3. Add 4 tblsp Onions to taste
4. Add 1 tblsp Hot peppers to taste
5. Add 1/8 bar butter (454g bars)
8. Allow to cook down some more - 5 mins
1. Add 4 tblsp Chives to taste
9. Mix half cup Water, 2 tblsp Cornstarch, Black Pepper
1. Add to meat as thickener (removes runniness)
10. Allow meat to absorb cornstarch and cook - 5 mins
11. Use up 2/3 all seasonings on this meat
2. Cook Beef second - medium heat, add small amount of oil to pot to prevent sticking (Add seasoning as you go along during cooking, otherwise the meat takes too long to cook)
1. Add 1 tsp salt and pepper liberally to taste
2. Add 4 bunches of fine thyme (each bunch is about 5 strands)
3. Cook until the liquid boils down and only a small amount remains - the meat should be moist, but not watery, it should only have a small amount of liquid on the bottom of the pot
4. Keep turning meat until it becomes light brown, and has almost no water left
5. Taste meat, add salt to taste
6. After the meat dries down, add ground seasonings - 25 mins
1. Add 4 tblsp Garlic to taste
2. Add 2 tblsp Normal Thyme to taste
3. Add 2 tblsp Spanish Thyme to taste
4. Taste meat, add salt and more garlic,thyme,spanish thyme, fine thyme to taste
7. Allow to cook down some more - 10 mins
1. Add 2 tblsp Pimentoes to taste
2. Add 4 tblsp Onions to taste
3. Add 1 tblsp Hot peppers to taste
4. Add 1/8 bar butter (454g bars)
8. Allow to cook down some more - 10 mins
1. Add 4 tblsp Chives to taste
9. Mix half cup Water, 2 tblsp Cornstarch, Black Pepper
1. Add to meat as thickener (removes runniness)
10. Allow meat to absorb cornstarch and cook - 10 mins
11. Use up the rest of the seasonings on this meat
3. Mix all cooked meat together
1. Remove any thyme stems
2. Add raisins, olives, capers and mix
3. Can add a little olive water to the mix if it needs more salt or flavor
5. Create Cornmeal balls
1. 1 Pack of promasa makes about 40 balls
2. Put all ingredients in large bowl
• 6 8oz cups of hot water
• 3 tblsp sugar
• 1/2 stick of butter
• 3 teaspoons of salt
3. Melt butter in water mixture
4. Add promasa to water, stir vigorously while adding or else will get hard and form lumps
5. Mix until all cornmeal is mixed properly and soft. Break up any chunks. There should be no dry or hard bits in between.
1. The mixture should separate from the bowl easily while stirring without sticking
2. Add small amounts of hot water until you achieve this consistency
6. Make balls about the size of a loosely closed fist, or a large ice cream scoop, meatball, large golf ball.
1. Do not play with them too much, just form the shape, do not squeeze
6. Press Balls flat
1. Prepare mixture of 50/50 warm water and oil in deep bowl
2. Cover top of press in cling wrap so it does not stick to ball
3. Dip ball into water/oil mixture (this is to regulate dryness if the ball is too dry)
1. The ball should be soft and warm to touch, no cracks or hard parts or crust. 
2. Should resemble consistency of soft plasticine
3. Not crumbly
4. Place leaf in press, grease leaf with some oil to prevent sticking during folding
5. Place ball on banana leaf in press (dip ball in water/oil mixture if it feels dry)
6. Press ball into flat circle
7. Fill Pastelle
1. Place 2 tblsp of meat filling into cornmeal circle in a squarish or rectangular shape (enough to fill all corners without overstuffing pastelle)
2. Align the rectangle in line with the grain of the leaf so it can fold easier
3. Add 5-6 olive slices
4. Fold over edges to make rectangle and cover all meat with cornmeal
5. Press down firmly to remove any air
6. Fold entire pastelle into leaf, wrap not too tight try to make a watertight fold (they swell as they cook)
7. Cut off excess leaf if it interferes with the fold
8. Tie two of them back to back in a single package
9. Place 2 tied pastelles together and wrap in foil to make a packet
10. Place foiled packets in freezer bags and store in freezer until ready to use
8. Cook Pastelle
1. Place 4-6 foil packets into boiling water
2. Fresh pastelles boil for 30 mins
3. Frozen pastelles boil for 45 mins