So every new cooking social, I try to think about my friends comin...where they’re coming from and what they might bring to the table! Today I chose to add pupusas to the menu because my dear friend Andrea, from Honduras is always raving about her tia’s pupusas! After trialling a few recipes, I figured out how to make them--with Andrea’s advice along the way.
What is a pupusa? It’s like a stuffed corn tortilla! So, if you’re tired of the taco, burrito jam, and you want to savvy up your Latin American game, stuff that *ish! The corn tortilla part is made with 2 parts “maseca” which is like corn flour (ready to be made into dough) with 1 part water. You might have to keep mixing, kneading, and adding water until you get a moist ball of dough that doesn’t crack on the edges. Let it sit for a few minutes while you make the fillings.
We made 2 fillings: 1) Indian Chinese Mushrooms 2) Black Bean Garlic
We started chopping garlic, onions and Chinese mushrooms. After talking with Ben, we agreed to add the garlic/onions halfway through sauteing as to keep some of the raw flavors/nutrients (both are part of the alium family which are known to have antimicrobial properties in the raw state aka germ killers). With a tad of olive oil, we sauted up some of the shrooms, added some Indian spices, then the garlic/onions--done-easy.
Then we sauteed up some black beans (I soaked and cooked them in a crockpot ahead of time but a can of drained black beans will work here as well) in some oil and added in the garlic/onions along with some cumin, coriander, paprika to give it that smokey but Asian-y flavor--done--easypeasy.
Now the part where we play with our food. Divide the dough into equal sized balls (keep dividing the dough in half until you get the desired ball size). Then holding the ball with one hand, take the other and push your thumb into it making a little cave, then use your fingers to even out as you flatten out the edges. Fill the middle with the filling of choice and slowly pinch together the edges of the cave in order to close the ball again. Now you have a stuffed ball!
Now you can choose to flatten it using your hands, OR you can take 2 plates (line them with parchment paper or tin foil or plastic wrap (except I hate using plastic as much as possible but do what you gotta do!) and put the stuffed ball on the bottom plate. Using the top plate, press down on the ball to flatten. It’s like a homemade pseudo tortilla maker (I like being resourceful and not having to buy cooking/kitchen equipment as much as possible!)--done! Fun!
We decorated the bean balls with cilantro so we could differentiate between the two and it looked pretty cute.
FInally, grease up a pan on the stove (you don’t have to use oil, but I like it for the nice crispiness and color. Lay out the flatten dough balls, heat on each side for a few minutes until you get those brown toasty marks. You want to make sure they’re cooked so I like to use the oil so I get a golden brown color before I flip it. Bow! Pupusas done!
And the best part? Is what you dump on your pupusa! We made Where the Pico is Apple Gallo? salsa, Cali guacamole and Poon Queso to dress our pupusa and they were divine!!! Double BOW!
Thanks for bringing pupusas into our lives Andrea! Like taco’s on crack, or like phat flying saucers! All the while being gluten-free, soy-free, peanut-free, nut-free, dairy-free, meat-free and animal LOVING!
Until next time ya’ll ;)