In a large pan over medium-high heat, add 1 tsp olive oil. Add the ground chicken and brown it, breaking it up as it cooks. Once water has evaporated and meat has browned, add garlic, onion, diced pepper, sofrito and tomato paste and all of your seasonings. Continue cooking and add small splashes of water to deepen the color and prevent burning. This entire process takes about 10-12 mins but it's worth it.
Once browned and everything has combined nicely, add enough water to just cover the chicken then add your bay leaf and thyme sprig. Let it simmer on medium heat until the water evaporates about 15 mins.
While the chicken in cooking, cut and slice your plantain into long strips but not too thin. Spray olive oil on either side and air fry on 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until just golden. Remember, we're baking them again. This is also a good step to pre heat your oven to 400 degrees if your air fryer isn't big enough to place your pastelón casserole dish.
Once your chicken has cooked and most of the water has evaporated, taste seasoning and adjust if needed. Add your washed and chopped spinach and cilantro -- cook together for 30 seconds and remove ground chicken from pan and set aside.
Your plantain should be done now as well so in your baking dish, add a tiny little bit of ground chicken to create your first layer and help the plantain stick. Layer your strips of plantain, ground chicken and drizzle the beaten egg over the chicken to ensure everything sticks together.
Traditionally, you would add cheese after the meat but we're going straight to another layer of plantain and meat to keep it calorie friendly. Create another layer, spready a little bit of egg again then top with a layer of mozzarella cheese.
Add your pastelón into the oven on 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes then broil on hi for 1-2 minutes until cheese is melted and has nice color on it. Enjoy this as a high protein main dish or side dish.
