Pupusas are a traditional dish from El Salvador. They can be filled with different ingredients and they are delicious served with curtido.
Pupusas with Curtido from El Salvador
Ingredients
Curtido
- ½ head green cabbage shredded
- 1 carrot shredded
- ¼ teaspoon finely chopped habanero pepper
- ½ red onion thinly sliced
- Salt and pepper
- Juice of ½ lime
- ½ cup white vinegar
- ¼ cup warm water
Pupusas
- 2 cups masarina or corn flour
- 1 cup warm water
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup cheddar cheese
- ¼ cup queso fresco
- ¼ cup mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup refried beans
- 1 cup cooked chicharrón diced
Instructions
- Combine the masa harina, warm water and salt, mixing thoroughly. Let mixture stand for five minutes.
- Knead with your hands for about 3 minutes, moistening your hands with water as you work.
- Form 8 small balls with the dough. Place each ball between 2 plastic bags and with a flat pot cover, flatten to ½ inch.
- Remove the top plastic of 4 tortillas, sprinkle the cheddar cheese, queso fresco and mozarella cheese over the bottom of each tortilla. Add the refried beans evenly on top of the cheese, then top with chicharron. Top with another tortilla. Press the borders to close the pupusa so the filling does not come out.
- Add the oil to a nonstick pan over medium heat. Place the pupusas in the pan, and cook about 3 minutes on each side, until a crust forms or they are golden brown. Serve warm with curtido.
To make the curtidio:
- Place all the ingredients in a bowl an mix well. Place in the fridge until ready to serve.
Nutrition
My friend Joan from Foodalogue is going on a virtual culinary tour “South of the Border” and the first stop was Mexico, so I joined her with these Chicken Tacos with Tomatillo Salsa.
This week we are going to El Salvador and I am joining her with their national dish, Pupusas. I didn’t know anything about Salvadorian cuisine when Joan announced the itinerary, so I started searching for information about their culture and food. I learned that some Salvadorian dishes are similar to some Colombian traditional dishes. Such similarities can be seen in dishes such as fried cassava and fried sweet plantains.
Pupusas are a thick tortilla made with masa de maiz, which is also used in Mexican tortillas and tamales. Traditionally, pupusas are stuffed with refried beans, Salvadorean cheese, chicharron( fried pork belly), loroco and other fillings like chicken, shrimp and more. They are served with curtido, a cabbage and carrot salad with a vinegar dressing. I made beans and cheese pupusas for my vegetarian husband and I made chicharron, beans and cheese pupusas for myself and they were both delicious with the curtido. I didn’t have Salvadorian cheese, so I used a mix of Queso fresco, mozarella and cheddar cheese.
Austin
I feel like an idiot but... what's the difference between arepas and pupusas?
Erica Dinho
Pupusas are made with a different corn flour.
lisa
Hi Erica! I'm actually Salvadorian-American (Is it Salvadorean or Salvadoran?) and the pupusas that are most commonly made here are the "pupusas revueltas" or pupusas made from chicharron and queso. However, Salvadorian pupusas are more diverse, they can be made with cheese and beans, or cheese only, cheese and loroco (my least favorite, I don't like loroco) and shrimp and cheese or fish and cheese. I only stick to my pupusas revueltas and cheese pupusas. Another thing, you don't have to use Salvadorian cheese as a matter fact most people use mozarella cheese to make pupusas. Pupusas are similar to the arepas of Venezuela. They are delicious if made the right way. The curtido also has other ingredients besides vinegar, but my mom would know best since she makes it all the time.
Sandra g
Erica made the curtido and pupusas tonight, they were delicious!
Erica
Sandra g- Thank you for your feedback!
Erica
Thank you all for visiting my blog!
Soma
I have never heard of this before. But it sounds so much like the stuffed breads we make except with wheat flour and different kind of stuffing. Thanks for sharing Erica.
Oysterculture
I love pupusas - in the DC area there was a lot of pupusa restaurants, not so common here in SF, but you've inspired me to keep looking!
Kitchen Butterfly
How yummy are these.....I joined the tour - such a great idea!!!!!!
Erica
Thank you everyone 🙂
Kim
The papusa look delicious. It all looks so homemade and delicious Erica. Great job.
anncoo
Never tried this before, looks very delicious!
Carla
What a great recipe. I have almost a full bag of Masa Harina left from making arepas and need more recipes to use it for. Thanks for the great idea. Looks delicious.
Claudia Medeiros
Hi, Erica ! Delicious menu ! 😀
I wish you a wonderful 2010, dear friend, full of all great things God can allow you 🙂
xoxo
Natasha - 5 Star Foodie
The pupusas and curtido sound excellent! I would love to try! I tried to make something for the tour but totally failed, so hope to join on the next stop.
monicajane
yum...i've eaten pupusas many times in restaurants but now I live where there are no El Salvadoran restaurants...this looks very doable...and I'd love to make them...
I need to find a source for the flour used.
Erica
Monica- You can find that flour at Latin markets, some brands are Maseca and Goya.
Sook
Oh pupusas!! I've heard SO MUCH about it from my Dominican friend! I am bookmarking this recipe to try it sometime. Thanks!
Arlene
I've seen the ready-made frozen Goya puposas, but I'm sure they're nothing like the real thing. Yours look amazing.