Rice Tamale (Pastel de Arroz)
El Pastel de Arroz (rice tamale) is typical dish from Cartagena, Colombia. It is very common to find it on Sundays at the beach or as a Christmas Eve favourite.
- Prep
- 37 min
- Cook
- 1 hr 25 min
- Total
- 2 hr 2 min
- Servings
- As written in source
- Difficulty
- Advanced
Timings are approximate — worked out from the method, not measured in a test kitchen.
Ingredients
Quantities are retained as written by the source and do not scale automatically. Tap an ingredient to check it off as you go.
Cooking instructions
Procedure
Mix all the ingredients well in a large Pyrex baking dish.
Procedure
Let stand one day under the sun (this is called orear).
Procedure
Place 1 leaf of cabbage on top of a clean working area.
Procedure
Spread ⅛ cup of the rice mixture over the cabbage leaf.
Procedure
Place one unit of each meat evenly through the pastel.
Procedure
Place pickles, chickpeas, capers, pickled onions on top of the meats.
Procedure
Place 2 slices of potato and 2 slices of tomato on top. Cover with another ⅛ cup of rice mixture.
Procedure
Cover with one leaf of cabbage.
Procedure
Place one washed lobster claw / banana leaf in a plain working area. Carefully put the pastel over the leaf and roll firmly. Cover with a second leaf and roll firmly. Tie with thread.
Procedure
Cook in a large pan, covered with water, vinegar and salt, for 2 hours.
Notes, tips, and variations
Onoto substitutes: pinch of paprika (for color not flavor); an equal amount of saffron; yellow food coloring; hot paprika; or equal parts turmeric and paprika.
Notes, tips, and variations
You can prepare your own pickles: For 6 pastels boil 1½ cup water, ½ cup vinegar, 4 tbsp brown sugar and 1 large carrot cut into 6 sticks, 2 celery sticks cut in three pieces each, 6 green beans cut in half, 1 large red bell pepper cut into 12 sticks, and 1 small cauliflower. Let cool down and keep refrigerated overnight, before using it.
Photo: Lgvanegas at English Wikibooks · Public domain · · Photo source and licence
Wikibooks contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 · https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ · Adapted; quantities retained as written. · Original source
Read it through first
Skim all 12 steps before you start — it is the difference between cooking and firefighting.
Scale it
Use the quantities listed in the original recipe. Adjust them manually if making a different batch size.
Storage
Cool completely, then keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.
Reheating
Reheat gently with a splash of water in a covered pan, rather than blasting it, so nothing dries out.
Nutrition information is not available for this recipe yet.
Reviews
No reviews yet. If you cook this, come back and tell everyone how it went.
