Pupusas

I only needed a couple days of dinners and decided to use up the rest of the masa flour in the bag.  I've never made pupusas and decided to teach myself how.

The recipe I found at A Cozy Kitchen for a Salvadoran pupusa is basically the same as the gordita recipe on the bag, just stuffed.  It also includes the recipe for curtido, the quick-pickle slaw served on the side.  Ok, so I didn't realize curtido was a thing and have never tried any when someone brings pupusas to work.  I also didn't want to compound my leftovers problem by using a quarter of a cabbage and opened a jar of kimchi instead.  The recipe isn't all that different.  Curtido just sits for 4 hours to marinate, while kimchi ferments for the better part of a week.

I am not filling these with much in the way of traditional fillings, which would put the beans on the inside, or maybe shredded pork.  I shelled out for the Oaxacan cheese because I had a use for the rest of it.  Everything else I used was already in the house.

I came up a wee bit short on masa harina and decided to improvise.  It just has to be a neutral tasting, gluten-free flour, right?  So I made up the quarter cup with part garbanzo flour and part matzoh cake meal. Not enough of either to change the taste.  Technically, the matzoh meal isn't gluten-free, but the glutens have already been cooked and will not create new strands when added to anything.  The end result tasted just like other pupusas I've had and the consistency of the dough matched the description in the recipe I was following.  I'm only mentioning it as a disclaimer.

Pupusa

*1-3/4 C masa harina
1 tsp kosher salt
1-1/2 C water
vegetable oil

Filling

1 C shredded Oaxaca cheese (or mozzarella)
*1/3 C diced avocado
*2 Tb pine nuts

Curtido

1/4 head of green cabbage, thinly shredded
1 carrot, grated
1/2 Tb Mexican oregano
1/2 C hot water
1/2 C apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar

1.  Early in the day, make the curtido.  Toss together cabbage and carrot shreds in a large bowl.  Separately, mix remaining ingredients into a dressing.  Pour over the vegetables and toss to distribute.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to use, at least 4 hours.

2.  For the pupusas, stir together masa harina and salt.  Add water and mix into a wet dough.  Let that sit around while you prep the filling and griddle.

3.  Heat a skillet or griddle over medium heat.  Add a teaspoon or two of oil to the pan, like you were making pancakes (hence the Pancakes label on the post).  Fill a small bowl with about a half cup of water and a tablespoon of oil.  This is for your hands, so the dough doesn't stick.

4.  Scoop out the dough into 1/4 C mounds onto a piece of parchment or wax paper.  If you have a 2 oz ice cream scoop with a release, that's the easiest way to do it.  Add any remaining dough to the scoops to get 8.

5.  Wet your hands with the oil and water, then take up one scoop of dough.  Flatten it by tossing it between your palms into a circle.  Place a generous pinch of cheese in the middle, then a less generous pinch of avocado and a few pine nuts.  Fold the circle in half, then bring in the sides.  Toss the ball back and forth again into a disc about 4" across.  It's ok if some of the filling is barely visible.   Set the pupusa back on the paper and move onto the next, rinsing and re-oiling your hands between each one.

6.  Set as many discs as comfortably fit on your griddle.  Cook until firm and lightly browned on the bottom, about 5 minutes.  Flip and cook the other side another 5 minutes.  Any darker parts are probably cheese that was poking through and nothing to be concerned about.

7.  Remove pupusas to a plate and keep warm.  Re-oil skillet and cook the rest.  Serve warm, with the curtido on the side.

Makes 8, which can be 4 servings as a main dish

Difficulty rating :)