Back in the good old days we had cable. Hundreds of channels, things on demand, and never a quiet moment. My hubby and I have slightly different taste in television shows… he would rather watch the science channel and I am totally content with E! We totally compromise on the food network though so back then we watched a lot of food network tv. This is both terrible (who doesn’t want to eat after watching that) and wonderful (it sparks my creativity and encourages me to break out of my food rut). More importantly it taught me a few new tricks! On one special episode of “The Best Thing I Ever Ate: With My Hands” I was introduced to the pupusa! It is an El Salvadoran dish comprised of a soft masa dough filled with anything you could dream up! Without ever having tried it I knew I was in love! Let me share just how easy (and delicious) this meal is!
Pupusa Recipe
Dough
- Maseca corn flour
- Water
Filling (pick whatever suits you fancy – or what you have on hand)
- Beans
- Cheese
- Meat
- Onions
- Tomatoes
- Peppers
Start by mixing up the masa dough. It is super easy and the directions are on the bag! Just mix the Maseca and water, i never add salt, but sometimes I use chicken stock instead of water. I’ve even been known to throw some taco seasoning in with the dough for some extra kick!
Once your dough is mixed up, get your fillings ready. You can get as creative or fancy as you want here. This batch was for my kids so it is simply beans and cheese, but you can do ANYTHING. I’ve made them with bbq pulled pork, ground taco meat, and carne asada! Once everything is ready to go you will need to prep your station. I usually take a piece of plastic wrap twice as big as i want my pupusa to be and use that as my separator, but I was out so i used wax paper instead. The masa is super sticky and if you don’t use something while you are rolling it out it will just be a giant frustrating mess (trust me)! Then you take your dough ball, about the size of a golf ball, and stick in in between the wax paper. Use a rolling pin to roll it out until it is the thickness of a tortilla. Remove the dough from the paper and set aside. Repeat this process until all your dough has been rolled out!
Because of the sticky factor I find it is easiest to either work in your hand or on the wax paper. Whatever works best for you is totally fine! Make a pile of yummy filling in the center of your dough and then place another dough on top. press the edges and set aside. Repeat this process until they are all filled up. ** During this process I will usually cut the extra off after they are pressed, since with this method no two dough rolls are the same. This usually gives me enough for one or two more pupusas.
Heat up a little bit of oil in a pan and lay those babies on. Once they are brown on one side flip them over and brown the other. They can be served with your favorite dipping sauce and eaten “with your hands”. Let me know some other fun combinations you come up with, I am always down to try new things!
