PASTELES DE ARROZ
(Rice pasteles)

3 cups rice
3 cups water
salt and pepper to taste
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced
1 onion chopped
1/2 cup tomato sauce
3 tb olive oil
chicken, pork or beef, cubed and stewed (braised)
banana leaves (or its substitution)
strings, to tie the pasteles

Sauté the rice with the olive oil, salt and pepper, garlic, onion and sauce. You might add some chopped olives and pimentos if desired. Add the water or chicken stock. Cook in medium high until the water evaporates and it begins to form craters. Switch off the temperature.

Cut the banana leaves in rectangles, on top of a comfortable table (to assemble the pasteles). Add a big cucharón of rice (serving spoon full of rice which is still al dente, not fully cooked) on top of the banana leave, forming a smaller rectangle. In the center of the rice, add a serving spoon full of the stew. Then, you fold twice, very carefully, the PASTEL DE ARROZ, and tie it so that both extremities are tied. Cook the PASTELES in a salted water pot for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Once cooked, remove promptly from the water; remove the leaves and serve.