Disclosure: I was given some wine from Vegan Wines to pair with this recipe.
I love eating lasagna and it’s been awhile since I’ve had one where the filling wasn’t a mix of vegetables and nut-based cheese. While I enjoy eating a good hearty lasagna for dinner, I thought I would attempt to veganize the Latin version of a lasagna called a pastelón.
A pastelón is a lasagna made with layers of meat, cheese and sweet plantains instead of noodles. I chose to veganize mine using Beyond Meat’s Beyond Burger as a meat substitute since it looks like meat and my family would not be hesitant to try it. You can use any vegan meat substitute in this recipe as long as it crumbles easily.
This dish went great with a bottle of Chateau Les Maubats Bordeaux wine that I received from Vegan Wines. They sell wines that are not only delicious but are made without any animal by products in them. I gave some to my family and they enjoyed it and didn’t notice any difference between this wine and the other wine they’ve had in the past.
This recipe is great to make for a gathering or you can freeze pieces of it to enjoy later on when you don’t want to cook.
Get more information about Vegan Wines here.
Purchase your own bottle of Chateau Les Maubats from Vegan Wines here.
Vegan Pastelón (Plantain Lasagna)
Get the printable recipe here.
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients:
4 yellow plantains
4 tablespoons olive oil divided
2 packages of Beyond Burger crumbled or 1 package vegan beef crumbles
½ red onion diced
2 tablespoons recao
8 olives
2 garlic cloves minced
½ can tomato sauce
sazón seasoning for sprinkling
adobo seasoning for sprinkling
1 can worth aquafaba (brine from a can of chickpeas)
1 can French green beans
1 bag vegan mozzarella cheese for sprinkling
Directions:
1. Peel and slice each plantain in half. Thinly slice each half lengthwise into strips.
2. Preheat oven to 400°F.
3. Take 2 tablespoons of oil and brush both sides of each plantain strip.
4. Place the plantain strips on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes.
5. Remove from oven and set aside.
6. Heat a pan over medium heat and sauté the onions, recao and garlic for 5 minutes.
7. Add the olives and tomato sauce and continue to cook for another 5 minutes.
8. Add the crumbled vegan beef and cook for 10 minutes. If it starts to dry out add a little bit of water.
9. Preheat oven to 350°F.
10. Lightly coat a baking pan with olive oil or refined coconut oil.
11. Line up some of the plantain strips on the bottom of the pan to form a layer. Make sure the strips cover the bottom of the pan.
12. Sprinkle a layer of vegan mozzarella cheese to cover all of the plantain strips.
13. Spread some of the vegan meat mixture on top of the cheese to cover it.
14. Spread some of the green beans throughout the layer.
15. Repeat steps 10-13 until all of the vegan meat mixture is used. Top the pastelón with a layer of plantains and cheese.
16. In a small bowl mix add the aquafaba and sprinkle some
sazón and adobo and mix together.
17. Pour the aquafaba mixture over the entire pastelón making sure it goes through to the bottom of the pan.
18. Cover the pan with aluminum and bake for 30 minutes.
