Paleo Pastelon

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You may be asking, “What in the world is a pastelon?” It’s a Puerto Rican dish that’s similar to a lasagna, only the noodles are thinly sliced maduros (fried sweet plantains). Classic versions include cheese, but with all the other amazing flavors in this dish, you don’t need it here. This paleo pastelon is not only the ultimate statement brunch entree, it’s a party in your mouth. It’s salty and sweet, with great texture, and no one will ever guess it fits beautifully into a clean eating diet.

I actually didn’t set out to make a clean eating breakfast dish on purpose, I just happened to have a couple plantains sitting on the counter that needed to be used. Since we’d already had maduros and had just finished the plantain apple cake, I needed to make something different that would use all those plantains!

If I’m going to be totally honest, it was my fault we had so many plantains anyway. I bought them green with intentions of making some green plantain dishes, but time got away from me and they ripened before I was able to cook with them. I really really hate the idea of wasting food though, and I think the result is pretty amazing, and will likely be making an appearance again on a weekend breakfast table at our house soon, particularly because the leftovers reheat really well, so that means lunch for a day or two can be packed up easily, and I can feel extra productive before noon. Hooray!

The recipe does take a little time to make, so plan accordingly. I prefer to assemble the day before, cover, and refrigerate until it’s time to bake the next morning. If you are making this while strictly adhering to a paleo eating plan or while on the Whole30, this dish is compliant as long as you use sugar-free sausage. If you cannot find paleo-friendly sausage, substitute with ground beef, and season it to your liking.

I hope you enjoy, darlings!

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Paleo Pastelon

Yield: 6 -8 servings

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

A clean-eating, paleo, Whole30 friendly, totally amazing, Puerto Rican comfort food made healthier, lovely layered breakfast casserole.

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Ingredients

• 3 cups peeled and cubed jicama
• 1 lb breakfast sausage
• 8 oz chopped spinach, fresh or frozen
• 2-4 tbsp neutral-flavored oil, I used avocado oil
• 4 large plantains, very ripe
• 6 large eggs
• salt to taste

Instructions

1. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
2. Peel and slice the plantain lengthwise into slices no more than 1/4" thick. I actually cut my plantains in half to make this easier.
3. Working in batches, fry the plantains until golden brown and caramelized. You may have to add a bit more oil partway through the cooking process. Set aside.
4. Preheat your oven to 350 F.
5. Using the same skillet, cook the sausage and jicama until the sausage has just started to brown. Add the spinach and cook 2-3 minutes more until the spinach has wilted. Remove from heat. Add salt if needed
6. Grease an 8x8" baking pan and cover the bottom of the dish a single layer of plantains. Top with 1/2 of the sausage mixture. Cover with another layer of plantain. Repeat with the remaining sausage mixture and plantains.
7. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and pour evenly over the pastelon.
8. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the egg is cooked through. Allow to stand 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

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