In 2008, my mother took me to the original Pupusa’s where I first discovered how delicious a pupusa is. Pupusa’s was a funky little hole-in-the-wall, a humble El Salvadoran food paradise with a cramped but lovable dining area.
In its final resting place, Pupusa’s was re-located just up the street at a much more posh address on North Broadway. But that’s all just a memory now.
John remembers being down in El Salvador in the 1980s and buying pupusas — El Salvador’s hand pie — from a street vendor. Every region has their own traditional tortilla style and the pupusa belongs to El Salvador, usually filled with cheese, beans, chicken, vegetables or a combination thereof. My memory is not so exotic but the flavors make it a memory worthy of cooking up.
Thicker than the typically thin Mexican-style tortilla, pupusas are made with one ball of masa harina, flattened, and in this recipe, a pile of chicken, salsa and cheese is heaped in the center and then a second, smaller ball of the masa is flattened and pressed over the filling.
In homage to the sorely missed restaurant, I recently made some pupusas at home interpreting a recipe from The Turtle Bay Cookbook, by Maria Perucca and Julio J. Ramirez, for Chicken Pupusas, Salvadoran-Style Stuffed Tortillas, Salsa Brava to top them with and Black Beans Otomi, to go alongside.
The pupusas are then fried and served with a Salsa Brava—a Latin American coleslaw, if you like—and the creamy and irresistible Black Beans Otomi. (I substituted Maria’s Salsa Brava for th e Salsa Curtido, which is a fermented salsa that takes more time to complete.)
You can make other versions of pupusas such as those filled with pork skin cracklings, a.k.a., “chicharrones,” or with cheese and/or beans or in various combinations. If you enjoy the flavors of El Salvador, pupusas — El Salvador’s hand pie — are for you.
Chicken Pupusas – El Salvador’s Hand Pie
Serves 6, Preparation Time: 35 minutes
Pupusa Dough
- 3 3/4 cups masa harina
- 2 1/2 cups warm water (or more, work to the consistency of a pie dough)
Vegetable Mixture for Filling
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper sauce
- 1 green bell bepper, chopped
- 4 ripe tomatoes, chopped
- 1 medium red, or sweet onion, chopped
Other Pupusa Fillings
- 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
- 2/3 cup shredded, cooked chicken
- 2 cups cooking oil, for frying
Make the Dough
Combine the masa harina and water in a medium-sized bowl and mix thoroughly until the dough just holds together.
Divide the dough into 12 balls: six 2-ounce balls and six 3-ounce balls. Cover and set aside.
Make the Vegetable Filling
Place the spices, pepper sauce, bell pepper, tomatoes and onion in a food processor and blend until well blended.
Build and Fry Your Pupusas
Flatten one 3-ounce ball or tortilla touch into a 5 1/2 to 6 1/2 inch disk. In the center of the tortilla place 1 tablespoon of the pureed vegetable mixture, 1 tablespoon of mozzarella cheese and 2 tablespoons of the chicken mixture. Flatten one 2-ounce ball of tortilla dough into a 4- to 5-inch disk and place it over the larger tortilla, covering the filling. Press the edges of both tortillas together so that they form a sealed pocket, Repeat this process 5 more times.
In a large, non-stick skillet heat the oil until a water droplet spits out. Add as many pupusas as can be accommodated with an inch of space between each. Cook over medium heat turning only once, about 10 minutes on each side. Repeat until all pupusas are cooked. Serve with Salsa Brava and Black Beans Otomi.
Salsa Brava
Makes 3 cups. Preparation time: 10 minutes, pickling time: 8 hours
- 1 medium carrot, julienne
- 1/4 small head white cabbage shredded
- 1/4 medium sweet or red onion, diced
- 1/4 green bell pepper, diced
- 1/4 red bell pepper, diced
- 2 serrano or jalapeno peppers, finely chopped
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup white vinegar
- 3/4 teaspoon sugar
Combine all in a medium-sized bowl. Pack the salsa in an airtight, non-reactive container and refrigerate at least 8 hours before serving to allow the mixture to pickle.
Black Beans Otomi
Serves 6, preparation time: 1 to 4 hours, depending on cooking pot
You can make these delicious beans by themselves and serve with sour cream and a salsa of your choice.
Pick through a pound of dried black beans, removing any stones or impurities. Cover with cold water 2 inches above the beans and soak overnight.
- 1 pound dried black beans
- 1 cup chopped sweet onion
- 1/4 cup peanut oil
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 2 serrano or jalapeno peppers, slit
- 1/2 cup rich chicken stock
- 2 quarts water
- Salt and pepper to taste
Combine all, except the salt, in a slow cooker, InstaPot or large dutch oven and bring to a boil then reduce heat and cook for 4 hours or until you get your desired consistency (usually only two, half-hour cycles on the InstaPot bean setting, plus 15 minutes in open sauce setting, to cook off some of the liquid).
Using a conventional stove top or slow cooker, simmer on low heat uncovered, adding 1 to 2 cups of water when necessary. The longer the beans cook, the thicker and richer the stock and sauce around them will be.
Whatever I don’t use right away, I freeze the completed beans in meal-sized portions and pull them out and reheat them when I want them.
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