Today I have a recipe for Salvadoran pupusa for you! Pupusa are basically stuffed tortillas or pancakes made with masa harina, aka corn flour, that are typically stuffed with cheese and optionally other things like pork and/or refried beans. These stuffed tortillas are really easy to make! You just mix some water and corn flour, form balls, flatten them, add the filling, fold them up (back into balls), flatten them again and then cook them in a pan! The final result is a like a pancake that is crispy on the outside, soft and warm on the inside and just bursting with melted cheese! The only tricky part is getting the right consistency for the dough since if it’s too dry it will crumble and if it’s too wet it will be difficult to work with but if you add the water a little at a time it’s pretty easy to get it right! Once you have mastered the basic cheese pupusas try adding other filling like the refried beans or pork! Serve the pupusas topped with curtido, a Salvadoran lightly fermented cabbage and hot sauce!
Cheese!!!!!
Add pork (aka Chicharrón)!!!
Or refried beans!
Pupusas con Cortido
Crispy golden brown corn pancakes stuffed with plenty of melted cheese and served topped with curtido!
ingredients
- 2 cups masa harina (corn flour)
- 1 1/2 cup warm water
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup monterey jack cheese (or queso Oaxaca, or mozzarella), shredded
- oil
- 1 cup curtido
- hot sauce to taste
directions
- Mix the masa harina, water and salt adding enough water to get a play dough like consistency. (The dough should not break up and crack a lot along the edges when you form it into a ball and flatten it.)
- Form into 8 2 inch balls, flatten the balls, top with the cheese filling, fold the edges up forming a ball and flatten it into a pancake.
- Heat a lightly oiled heavy bottom pan over medium-high heat, add the pupusas and cook until lightly charred, golden brown and crispy on both sides, about 2-4 minutes per side.
Option: Add 1 tablespoon pulled pork such as carnitas or pork al pastor or pork tinga or pork pibil or lechon asado to the filling!
Option: Add a 1-2 tablespoons lard or bacon grease to the dough.
Option: Serve with guasacaca (avocado sauce).
OMG- these look off the charts good Kevin!!
My husband is Salvadoran. I learned to make pupusas from his mother. I wouldn't quite say they are "easy" as the construction takes a bit of practice but they are worth the effort. I will say that we don't oil our pan and a good tip is to keep that masa wet. Keep a towel over it and keep your hands wet. It really helps. 🙂
I’m Salvadoran. That’s not a pupusa con chicarron. Pupusas are not pancakes. We don’t use whole beans, meat chunks or hot sauce. The beans are refried, the masa is molida “thinned out”, and we use tomatoe sauce not hot sauce. Avocados with pupusas?
There is no right or wrong way to make them. It’s her own version and ingredients she prefers to use. Even Latin American families prepare them many different ways. No big deal!