Mayte’s Pupusas (cheese+black beans)
Hola!
Pupusas are the national dish of El Salvador. It is also made in Honduras and is served with homemade salsa and curtido (pickled onion, carrots, and cabbage)
Below are all of the steps to making them. In the next few posts you will find the recipes for the specific salsa to make and curtido too!
Buen Provecho!
There are a few steps to making this.. So pace yourself.
You can choose to make the toppings (Salsa + Curtido) and /or black bean filling the day before.
Or make it all on the same day. Totally up to you! We have done it both ways.
Cheese Filling
Ingredients:
1 lb mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup of milk
Grated bell pepper (optional)
Preparing the cheese:
Working with a refrigerated block of cheese, cut it into pieces and use your blender or food processor to make a dough like consistency.
Work the cheese with you hand to make it soft. Adding milk in small amounts to make the cheese a very soft consistency, not runny.
Grated bell pepper is optional here for more flavor
Set aside, room temp.
Refried black bean filling
Ingredients:
1 white onion
1 peeled garlic clove
1/4 cup of olive oil
1/2 tsp. Chicken bouillon
Salt as needed
Let’s go!
In a pan with oil, sauté onions and garlic clove until browned and their fragrance has been released
Add to blender with 7ish oz. of the canned refried beans, and your chicken bouillon to taste. Puree
In the same pan with oil, add this bean, garlic and onion mixture + the rest of the beans
Cook with medium heat for about 20 minutes. No lid. Folding every 5-7minutes
The texture of these blended beans must be soft, not runny
Turn off flame
Set aside, room temp. They should cool for the assembly part. :)
Ducal Black Refried Beans - 15oz.
You will need 2 of these for this recipe
Preparing the masa/ dough: We use MASECA brand.
Ingredients:
4 1/2 cups of Corn flour (MASECA)
3 cups of warm water
Small bowl of oil (for assembly)
Lets go!
Mix the corn flour in a bowl, adding in warm water, slowly
Work the dough by folding, not squeezing, until the dough if free of lumps and is very soft and velvety
Let it rest while you set up your assembly line :)
Heat your non stick flat pan at medium flame
Assembling the Pupusas
Step 1: Make little balls (same size) of your dough - keep in bowl
Step 2: In your hands flatten the dough while creating a small cavity for the filling
Step 3: Add cheese and beans inside the cavity and close
Step 4: Tap the olive oil with your hand to help the dough not stick
Step 5: With the palms of your hand, flatten the filled in ball of dough and make it round (like a stuffed tortilla)
Step 6: Place it on the heated flat pan - wait for each side to be cooked
Step 7: Once cooked on each side serve hot with your curtido and salsa toppings. Enjoy!
Cooking them is pretty easy. Just make sure that both sides are crispy. No need to add anything to your non stick pan.
Bonus points for the cheesy crust. That is my sons favorite part.
Don’t forget to tag us when you make them…we appreciate you!
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