When my daughter was little, she’s now seventeen, we used to go to the Hollywood Farmers Market most weekends. There were always so many amazing food stalls to choose from. One of my favorites was the Salvadorean Pupusas. I’d never had a pupusa until I moved to Los Angeles in 2000. The women at the food stall would take masa balls and stuff them with all sorts of delicious fillings and cook them on a hot griddle. My go to filling was zucchini flowers and cheese. I was in the market last month and saw some zucchini flowers and was inspired to learn how to make pupusas.
Mazie and I got a lesson from our friend Estela who grew up in El Salvador.
Traditional Salvadorian pupusas are made using masa de maíz, filled with a blend of seasoned pork, refried red beans, cheese with edible zucchini flowers or green blossoms from the loroco vine or plain cheese that seeps out and browns on the grill. Pupusas are typically served with curtido, a lightly fermented cabbage slaw with red chilies and vinegar and a light tomato salsa.
To fill a pupusa, form a hollow in a ball of dough, add the filling, seal the dough around the filling. Press and gently pat dough until flat.
Pupusas were first created centuries ago by the Pipil tribes who inhabited the territory now known as El Salvador. Cooking implements for their preparation have been excavated in Joya del Ceren in El Salvador, the site of a native village that was buried by ashes from a volcanic explosion almost 2000 years ago. In the 1980s, the Salvadorian civil war forced a Salvadoran migration to other countries, mainly the United States and pupusas became available wherever a Salvadoran community was found.
Don’t be intimidated. They are easy to make. What could be tastier than a handcrafted, light puffy corn tortilla, stuffed with melting cheese and edible flowers!
Pupusas
serves 4-8
Ingredients
6 cups Maseca flour
5 cups water
10 zucchini flowers broken into smaller pieces
1/4 lb Mozarella
1/4 lb Monterey Jack
1/4 lb Oaxacan (Los Altos brand is my favorite)
Instructions
Blend the cheese and zucchini flowers together in bowl and set aside.
Stir flour together with water in a large bowl, then knead the mixture until soft and smooth, similar to bread dough. Add more flour or water to get the correct consistency.
Put a little water on your fingertips before you pick up the masa and form it into a ball.
To fill a pupusa, form a hollow in the ball of dough, add a nice chunk of cheese mixture and zucchini flowers (or other filling), seal the dough around the filling and press and pat it until flat. They should be about 4 inch circumference. Make as many as you can.
Put the pupusas into a hot pan with no oil and cook until pupusas darken get a little crust and the odd ooze of cheese!
Notes
Serve with curtido and salsa.
Curtido
Ingredients
2 cups shredded green cabbage
½ cup shredded carrots
½ cup thinly sliced onion
4 cups apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1 teaspoon dried chili flakes or 1 serrano pepper, finely chopped (optional)
Instructions
In a large ceramic bowl or glass jar with a lid, combine the cabbage, carrots, onion, vinegar, oregano, salt, peppercorns and chili flakes, if using. Stir to combine.
Cover tightly with lid or plastic wrap. Marinate for at least an hour before serving.
Notes
Curtido can be stored in the refrigerator up to 5 days.
Salsa for Pupusas
Ingredients
4 roma tomatoes
1 garlic clove
1 ring of onion
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp oregano
red pepper flakes (optional)
Instructions
Boil onion, garlic and tomatoes until soft (about 15 minutes).
Blend all ingredients with oregano and salt and red pepper flakes. Adjust seasoning to taste.
Notes
This is not a chunky but a runny salsa.
