Pupusas

Picture the perfect winter moment in your home with the craving of trying a warm and cozy taste. Not much comes to mind other than having a hot chocolate with cookies to go along with it right? Well we all have different cravings and in my case although it may be a dish from El Salvador why not try cooking it for the first time in a Mexican household?

So many different recipes which one should I even begin with..

Who would’ve known I would create a dish my family doesn’t expect to be at the table any time soon?

Once in a while during weekends, my family and I would drive to Vancouver, Washington to eat pupusas made from a taco truck. It was always worth it due to the fact that they are quite filling while still being delicious. Despite the long drive, we always enjoyed everything about it: The view, the feeling , and the taste

Knowing I have limited tools and ingredients in front of me, I made my decision and began boiling pinto beans in a medium sized pan. Adding a bit of salt after they are fully boiled I moved the beans to a different container. In my household we specifically use pinto beans when it comes to making a dish with beans simply because I don’t like canned beans. 

Pork rind. I never knew pupusas included pork rind until I made the filling for the first time. In order to make the filling, blend pork rind into a blender of course, making it very fine creating a pork rind powder. Add the pork rind powder to the previously made pinto beans and mix well until beans are fully crushed and well mixed with powder. 

The combination of the pork rind and the pinto beans as the filling is something I never imagined would be pleasing to anyone’s taste buds but it's what makes the dish quite unique compared to the other recipes listed. Although it sounds like a plain dish it's a taste, one would never get bored of. 

We first found out about this dish through a facebook post my parents saw on Facebook. They became curious and decided to take a long drive to get to the taco truck but soon after 2 years the taco place shut down.

After the filling is done make sure to create small palm sized balls of the filling, making it easier to place on top of the tortilla. But to make the handmade tortillas grab 4 or up to 6 cups of maseca depending on the amount of pupusas. While mixing the maseca with hot water make sure the consistency is smooth enough to not leave any leftover dough in your hands and that is when you will know the dough is ready to be fried. In order to make the tortillas easier and more efficient, have a tortilla press maker which makes it TEN TIMES EASIER because every pupusa requires two tortillas. 

Preparing a Pupusa:

Place plastic wrap on a flat clean surface and place the tortilla first. You will then add a round ball made earlier of the filling and using a spoon (optional) spread filling on top of the tortilla after this step, you will place the provolone cheese and the second tortilla while closing the edges to prevent the filling or cheese from coming out while frying causing oil burns to the skin. In a frying pan spreading a semi-generous amount of olive oil place pupusa/s and wait till both sides are golden and slightly crispy.

Learning from experience, make sure to have someone help you if you are making more than three pupusas because it's a hustle creating this dish by yourself but overall worth it for the taste.